Multi-Layered System Evaluated…
NASA has announced it has run some tests on a synthetic vision system that appears to add a few wrinkles to the certified system already available from Chelton and the numerous experimental systems on the market. Using a Gulfstream GV as a test platform (a rigorous test environment if ever there was one) NASA and a bevy of private-sector and government partners put the system through its paces. Like existing systems, the NASA gear gives the pilot a computer-generated portrayal of the world outside based on GPS mated to a topographical database, but it goes a few steps beyond. The system also gives a virtual bird’s-eye view of the world below, and incorporates a voice recognition system and a database integrity monitoring system that uses sensors to “compare the real world to the pictures being generated.” Finally, a runway incursion prevention system was added to alert the crew to any developing problems on the ground. The system was tested in both panel-mounted and head-up mode.
