Honeywell to continue DARPA work
Honeywell has been contracted by the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue work aimed at improving three-dimensional (3-D) visibility and safety for US military helicopter pilots, it announced on 16 February.
Helicopter pilots face visual challenges during inclement weather and harsh environments such as rain, snow, dust and fog that reduce the ability to land and fly safely. Under DARPA’s Multifunction Radio Frequency initiative, Honeywell will set up, update and integrate its Synthetic Vision Avionics Backbone (SVAB) solution on US military test helicopters including the UH-60 Black Hawk.
The company's technology provides pilots with an accurate 'out-the-window' 3-D view on their primary flight displays, providing visibility in low-visibility environments.
The solution combines the company's Federal Aviation Administration-certified synthetic vision products for business and general aviation with a software backbone developed for DARPA; it can be adapted to different platforms and sensors in use with the US armed forces.
Honeywell will update the synthetic vision system to support the next phase of the Multifunction Radio Frequency programme to fuse information from DARPA's Advanced Rotary Multifunction Sensor radar along with terrain and obstacle databases and satellite imagery.
Howie Wiebold, manager, business development, Honeywell Aerospace, said: ‘Honeywell is meeting the challenge of mitigating degraded visual environments. By processing data from multiple sensors and developing a 3-D synthetic rendering of the exterior view in degraded conditions, we can create a safe environment where military pilots can turn degraded visual environments into a tactical advantage.’
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