This paper describes the integration of a Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) system on a civil certified H145 (BK117 D-2) helicopter. The DVE system consists of a LiDAR, an EVS camera and a head-tracked head/helmet mounted display system (HMD) integrated into the Helionix digital avionics suite. The DVE system presents a head-up display of flight symbology combined with Enhanced Vision System (EVS) imagery and 3D conformal symbology based on fused LiDAR and database data. The DVE system also provides a Combined Vision System (CVS) display on the Helionix head-down displays. All sensors were prototypically integrated into the H145 demonstrator in a serial-like manner, allowing for a potential serialization of the system. The flight trials were conducted focusing on military as well as on civil HEMS missions and were used to verify the intended function and evaluate installed DVE system performance.

Date Published: 1 May 2019
PDF: 19 pages
Proc. SPIE 11019, Situation Awareness in Degraded Environments 2019, 1101906 (1 May 2019); doi: 10.1117/12.2520342

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 11019:
Situation Awareness in Degraded Environments 2019
John (Jack) N. Sanders-Reed; Jarvis (Trey) J. Arthur III, Editor(s)