Projectors Enhance US Army Flight Simulations

June 1, 2011

The US Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), the Army’s focal point for aviation and missile platform research, has replaced its aging projectors with six Matrix StIM™ projectors from Christie, a company that specializes in simulation and visualization displays. The LED-illumination display tools will be used in AMRDEC's Battlefield Highly Immersive Virtual Environment Laboratory, or BHIVE Lab, which simulates various cockpit and flight scenarios.

The screen provides a 70-degree vertical and 180-degree horizontal field-of-view.

AMRDEC's APEX 2 LAB, similarly, creates an environment using true-to-life virtual landscapes so researchers can evaluate Pilot-Vehicle interface problems when cockpit changes are proposed. Out-of-the cockpit views must accurately represent the location where the pilot is flying the mission, and the Christie projectors will assure AMRDEC that the outdoor terrain scenes appear as they would in the actual environment and under the same conditions.

Configurations within Engineering Analysis Cockpits are now evaluated using an outside view of a terrain, which is powered by the six Christie Matrix StIM projectors. The screen provides a 70-degree vertical and 180-degree horizontal field-of-view (FOV), with the dome accommodating five cockpit simulators, each representing a different aircraft. The addition of Christie AutoCal™ and Christie MotoBlend™ creates a 180-degree, calibrated scene.

The Christie Matrix StIM projectors have also been used during crew station working group (CSWG) meetings. These experimental sessions draw on the expertise of many people including engineers, user representatives, and operational pilots who remotely observe what the pilot sees inside and outside the cockpit and how the pilot performs. A typical CSWG lasts up to four consecutive days, with the Christie Matrix StIM projectors beaming outdoor images onto the dome seven hours each day.

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