Browse Topic: Haptic / touch
This paper investigates the use of multi-modal cueing through full-body haptic feedback to enhance pilot-vehicle system (PVS) performance, reduce mental workload (MWL), and increase situational awareness (SA) in both good and degraded visual environments (GVE/DVE). Piloted simulations were conducted using an H-60-like flight dynamics model in a virtual reality (VR) motion-based simulator, evaluating two ADS-33-like mission task elements (MTEs) – precision hover and slalom – under visual-only and combined visual and haptic feedback conditions in both GVE and DVE. The H-60 flight dynamics were augmented with a dynamic inversion (DI)- based stability augmentation system (SAS), implementing rate-command/attitude hold (RCAH) response type on the roll, pitch, and yaw axes and altitude hold response type on the vertical axis. The SAS was designed to achieve Level 1 handling qualities per ADS-33 standards. The full-body haptic cueing strategy leveraged an outer-loop DI control law, which
This paper describes a combined visual and haptic localization experiment that addresses the area of multi-modal cueing. The aim of the present investigation is to characterize accuracy and precision of tactile cue-ing in the peri-personal space (PPS), the space around the body in which sensory information is perceived as meaningful (Ref. 1). Outcomes of the unimodal (visual and haptic) and multi-modal (combined visual-haptic) localizations are used to make predictions about the multimodal integrative phenomenon. In the localization experiment, participants are presented with visual, haptic, or multimodal target cues using the body-centered reference frame and are instructed to indicate the corresponding hypothetical target location in space using a mouse pointer in an open-loop feedback condition.
This paper illustrates the development, implementation, and testing of full-body haptic and spatial audio cueing algorithms for augmented pilot perception. Cueing algorithms are developed for roll-axis compensatory tracking tasks where the pilot acts on the displayed error between a desired input and the comparable vehicle output motion to produce a control action. The error is displayed to the pilot using multiple cueing modalities: visual, haptic, audio, and combinations of these. For the visual and combined visual haptic/audio modalities, visual cues are also considered in degraded visual environments (DVE). Full-body haptic and spatial audio algorithms that are based on a proportional derivative (PD) compensation strategy on the tracking error are found to provide satisfactory pilot vehicle system (PVS) performance for the task in consideration in absence of visual cueing, and to improve PVS performance in DVE when used in combination with visual feedback. These results are
Maintenance of spatial orientation (SO) is achieved primarily through visual information where the horizon and celestial reference cues or flight instruments are used by pilots to infer aircraft orientation. However, cross checking the instruments in degraded visual environments can be complicated by factors such as workload, distraction, and situations where the vestibular and proprioceptive systems may provide false and competing orientation information. We describe experiments measuring pilot performance using a flight simulator under challenging conditions where the sensory information was controlled. Reducing available visual instruments increased the task difficulty. A wearable vibrotactile array could provide concurrent, additional orientation information. Increasing the flying task segment difficulty increased the perceived workload and also corresponded to an increase in accidents. Adding tactile orientation information reduced the accident rate.
This paper describes development and testing of a low-cost device mounted on in the pilot seat of a rotorcraft simulator with the aim of improving the perceived realism of the flight. The device acting vertically from the bottom of the seat is used to communicate changes of acceleration in the vertical direction corresponding to heave movement of the simulated aircraft. A bespoke flight simulator system was developed, featuring modular design and virtual reality (VR) visualisation to enable comparative testing with a full motion system. Objective analyses have shown similarities between the two motion cueing configurations when contrasted with only using visual cues.
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This study is a part of an ongoing series of studies examining cueing modalities to circumvent the in-flight effects of degraded visual environments (DVEs) in a rotary wing aircraft. The suite of cueing modalities investigated include visual cueing symbology, auditory cueing, and tactile cueing. This study compared the use of combinations of these cueing modalities to find which resulted in the best performance and the least amount of workload required of the pilot. This specific paper focuses on the analysis of pupillometric data collected through video-based eye-tracking to measure cognitive workload. Results are discussed.
ABSTRACT Current and future military rotary-wing operations are anticipated to take place more frequently in urban environments. This will increase likelihood for the presence of obstacles along the flight path. In order to maintain safe and effective flights, cueing for obstacle detection and subsequent avoidance is needed. A study was completed to examine the utility of providing obstacle avoidance cues using multimodal cueing. Three different cueing configurations consisting of combinations of visual, auditory, and tactile cues that provided obstacle avoidance information were examined to evaluate their effect on pilots' situational awareness and workload. Pilots performed low-level flights in a dense urban area with obstacles present. Initial support for multimodal displays of obstacle information was found.
Spatial orientation (SO) awareness and the associated Spatial Disorientation (SD) are very complex and multi-faceted problems that are often implicated in military and civilian aviation mishaps. This work describes a series of experiments where participants reported their perceived orientation during test flight maneuvers, while under various controlled sensory reference conditions. Participant sensory information was restricted to; visual instrument conditions, vibrotactile orientation cues that were presented on an array of body referenced tactile actuators and no visual or tactile cues. During maneuvers where visual or tactile cueing information was provided, all participants maintained spatial orientation. As expected, in the absence of cues, participants relied on their somatosensory system which could lead to significant errors in orientation estimation. Continuous tactile orientation information potentially provides the capability of maintaining SO under conditions of pilot
Over the past several years, there has been a trend from airframe vendors to move from procuring federated components (individual control panels and computers) to integrated avionics systems provided by a single vendor. This integration has reduced size, weight, power, and increased the usability of the system for the pilots. These latest cockpits are typically made up of larger displays and integrated controls, including touch screens. This level of integration has significantly increased the difficulty in incorporating third party (OEM and other vendor) mission specific avionics into the cockpit. This is especially noted in military aircraft and rotorcraft, which frequently have needs beyond a typical fixed wing passenger transport aircraft, which have been the baseline of integrated avionics systems (Ref [1]). The industry has been focused on several different methods to address incorporation of third party mission specific avionics into these highly integrated systems. Initiatives
ABSTRACT This paper describes the flight test of a mounted touchscreen device in a UH-60 helicopter. The device assists crew chiefs in their fuel management tasks and provides situational awareness information regarding the route/flight plan, map data, external camera displays, publications and aircraft system information. The touchscreen tested was a 10.5" display and used Projected Capacitive for touch input. It was surrounded by 28 bezel switches. Eight current crew chiefs performed tasks using the device in flight. The participants wore gloves. Flight test evaluation results show that the subjects used and preferred the bezel switches over soft buttons on the touchscreens. Results also show that 16% percent of touchscreen presses required multiple presses to register the touch. Vibration did not appear to cause a problem with using the touchscreen. Gloves did present a problem in using the Projected Capacitive touchscreen.
ABSTRACT The Australian Army sponsored a flight demonstration of the Tactile Cueing System (TCS) to determine the mission utility of tactile cueing for hover and approach operations in Degraded Visual Environment (DVE). TCS uses the sense of touch to provide intuitive hover drift cues to helicopter crews and was integrated and flown in an Australian Army CH-47F helicopter. Data obtained during the flight demonstration showed that in DVE, hover performance improved with TCS usage. The objectively measured performance enhancement was accompanied by a concurrent improvement in ADS-33 handling quality ratings, subjective spatial awareness (SA), and workload rating by the pilot; and the subjective ratings of pilot performance by aircrew. TCS demonstrated maximum drift maintenance improvement when it was combined with a visual display during translational rate command mode. Lessons learned highlighted the necessity to integrate TCS with 1553 data, and optimise the integration of the TCS with
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