This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 6956, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents, Introduction, and the Conference Committee listing.

The Dedicated Autonomous Extended Duration Airborne Long-range Utility System (DAEDALUS) is a prototype Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) that won the 2007 AFRL Commander's Challenge. The purpose of the Commander's Challenge was to find an innovative solution to urgent warfighter needs by designing a UAV with increased persistence for tactical employment of sensors and communication systems. DAEDALUS was chosen as a winning prototype by AFRL, AFMC and SECAF. Follow-on units are intended to fill an intermediate role between currently fielded Tier I and Tier II UAV's. The UAV design discussed in this paper, including sensors and displays, will enter Phase II for Rapid Prototype Development with the intent of developing the design for eventual production. This paper will discuss the DAEDALUS UAV prototype system, with particular focus on its communications, to include the infrared sensor and electro-optical camera, but also displays, specifically man-portable.

The Advanced Linked Extended Reconnaissance & Targeting (ALERT) Technology Demonstration (TD) project is addressing many operational needs of the future Canadian Army's Surveillance and Reconnaissance forces. Using the surveillance system of the Coyote reconnaissance vehicle as an experimental platform, the ALERT TD project aims to significantly enhance situational awareness by fusing multi-sensor and tactical data, developing automated processes, and integrating beyond line-of-sight sensing. The project is exploiting important advances made in computer processing capability, displays technology, digital communications, and sensor technology since the design of the original surveillance system. As the major research area within the project, concepts are discussed for displaying and fusing multi-sensor and tactical data within an Enhanced Operator Control Station (EOCS). The sensor data can originate from the Coyote's own visible-band and IR cameras, laser rangefinder, and ground-surveillance radar, as well as from beyond line-of-sight systems such as mini-UAVs and unattended ground sensors. Video-rate image processing has been developed to assist the operator to detect poorly visible targets. As a second major area of research, automatic target cueing capabilities have been added to the system. These include scene change detection, automatic target detection and aided target recognition algorithms processing both IR and visible-band images to draw the operator's attention to possible targets. The merits of incorporating scene change detection algorithms are also discussed. In the area of multi-sensor data fusion, up to Joint Defence Labs level 2 has been demonstrated. The human factors engineering aspects of the user interface in this complex environment are presented, drawing upon multiple user group sessions with military surveillance system operators. The paper concludes with Lessons Learned from the project. The ALERT system has been used in a number of C4ISR field trials, most recently at Exercise Empire Challenge in China Lake CA, and at Trial Quest in Norway. Those exercises provided further opportunities to investigate operator interactions. The paper concludes with recommendations for future work in operator interface design.

Image exploitation is of increasing importance to the enterprise of building situational awareness from multi-source data. It involves image acquisition, identification of objects of interest in imagery, storage, search and retrieval of imagery, and the distribution of imagery over possibly bandwidth limited networks. This paper describes an image exploitation application that uses image content alone to detect objects of interest, and that automatically establishes and preserves spatial and temporal relationships between images, cameras and objects. The application features an intuitive user interface that exposes all images and information generated by the system to an operator thus facilitating the formation of situational awareness.

We tested the saliency of a single vibrotractile target (T) among 2 to 7 nontargets (N), presented by 8 tactors that were equally distributed over a horizontal band around the torso. Targets and nontargets had different pulse duration, but the same activation period and no onset asynchrony. T-N similarity was varied by changing the difference between T and N pulse duration. For target present trials the response times increased with the number of stimulus items for all conditions tested, suggesting a serial discrimination process. For target absent trials the response times were independent of the number of stimulus items, suggesting a parallel discrimination process. We found no effect of T-N similarity and no search asymmetry. The present results suggest that tactile target search is not comparable to visual search.

Collecting accurate, adequate ground truth and experimental data to support technology evaluations is critical in formulating exact and methodical analyses of the system's performance. Personnel at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), tasked with developing performance measures and standards for both Urban Search and Rescue (US&R) and bomb disposal robots, have been designing advanced ground truth data collection methods to support these efforts. These new techniques fuse multiple real-time streams of video and robot tracking data to facilitate more complete human robot interaction (HRI) analyses following a robot's experiences. As a robot maneuvers through a test method, video and audio streams are simultaneously collected and fed into a quad compressor providing real-time display. This fused quad audio/visual data provides a complete picture of what the operators and robots are doing throughout their evaluation to not only enhance HRI analyses, but also provide valuable data that can be used to aid operator training, encourage implementation improvements by highlighting successes and failures to the developers/vendors, and demonstrate capabilities to end-users and buyers. Quad data collection system deployments to support US&R test methods/scenarios at the 2007 Robot Response Evaluation in Disaster City, Texas will be highlighted.

Hover is an essential component of rotary wing aviation but learning to hover is extremely difficult. From the viewpoint inside the cockpit, the beginning student neither sees nor understands what needs to be done to control the aircraft. This is because the out-the-window real world visual cues suffer from two primary shortcomings. First, the real world visual cues are ambiguous. For example, the relative motion of the ground moving under the nose may indicate forward flight, pitching upward, vertical ascent, or any combination of these. Second, human ability to judge aircraft pitch by itself is insufficient to stabilize the aircraft; such other clues as relative motion or parallax are needed to augment pitch judgments to set aircraft attitude adequately. We report a training display (TD) designed to assist training rotary wing hover. The TD is specifically constructed to communicate aircraft performance and attitude to the student pilot and to disambiguate the external world's features and motions cues into symbology that allows each cue independently to support sufficient levels of parameter resolution. Our preliminary observations, based on pilot data collected during the design, parameterization, and calibration of the TD indicate that it meets its goals in a fashion that enables beginning flight students to understand and interpret the motion cues of the real world out-the-window view.

Image Intensifier Tube (IIT) technology remains a critical component of the warfighter's arsenal. However, even after six decades of fielded systems most IIT inspections are accomplished relying on human judgment and round-robin calibration techniques. We report on the Automated Intensifier Measurement System (AIMS), a NIST-traceable, calibratable, machine vision system developed to produce automated, quantifiable, reproducible results on eight of the major IIT inspections: (1) Useful Diameter, (2) Modulation Transfer Function, (3) Gross Distortion, (4) Shear Distortion, (5) Bright Spot, (6) Dark Spot, (7) Gain and (8) Uniformity. The overall architecture of the system and a description of the algorithms required for each test is presented. Translation from the anthropocentric MIL-PRF-A3256363D(CR) OMNI VII Military Specification to measurable quantities (with appropriate uncertainties) is described. The NIST-traceable system uncertainties associated with each measurement is reported; in all cases AIMS measures quantities associated with the above tests to more precision than current industry practice. Issues with the current industry standard equipment and testing methods are also identified. Future work, which will include additional inspections, is discussed.

As the battlefield becomes "digitized", all arms of the military are deploying COTS displays in the form of Portable Notebooks, Kneeboards, GPS and PDA's in ever greater numbers. Many of these COTS equipments and associated displays use full color LCD's and resistive touch panels as the operator-interface. These displays are a challenge to those who must modify the COTS equipment for NVG compatibility. Traditional NVG filter options have relatively poor color rendering and are too thick or rigid to interface with touch panels. In addition, many of these displays do not have sufficient dimming capabilities to allow covert night-time operations and do not have sufficient luminance for daytime operations. Polymeric materials recently developed by Wamco have been specifically designed for applications where traditional NVG filters have failed. These applications will be discussed and quantified in terms of NVG Compatibility, Color Rendering, Luminance Contrast and Daytime Readability, Touch Screen Sensitivity and Environmental Performance.

With the introduction of the night-vision goggle (NVG) into vehicle cockpits, the transfer of visual information to the observer became more complex. The problem emanated from the image intensifier tube photocathode spectral response. NVGs were capable of sensing and amplifying visible cockpit light, making observation of the scene outside of the cockpit, the primary use for NVGs, difficult. Over the years, several documents were published outlining night vision imaging system (NVIS) compatible lighting performance. These documents limited the permissible amount of light visible to image intensifier tubes that cockpit displays could emit, enhancing pilot visual performance. Recent advances in short wave infrared (SWIR) sensor technology make it a possible alternative to image intensifiers for night imaging application. However, while popular SWIR cameras are not particularly sensitive to visible light, they may be sensitive to other display emissions not attenuated by state-of-the-art NVIS filters. This paper examines the possibility of expanding the traditional treatment of vehicle cockpit compatibility to include new, novel vision enhancement devices yet to be designed and vehicle cockpit geometry.

Displays used for defense and security can often be a critical component in analysis where image data needs to be converted to actionable information with accuracy and speed. In situations where complex and/or time-critical image data are being processed, 3D displays have been historically used to maximize accuracy, comprehension and efficiency in the analysis process, and could be used more widely today. While the ideal 3D display technology does not yet exist, viable 3D display products have become available in recent years for many applications. These new products are driven by advancements in display technology at large. This paper will provide a brief overview of 3D perception and imaging, an overview of current 3D display technology and a discussion of current and potential near term applications for 3D displays.

Volumetric displays allow users to view freely three-dimensional (3D) imagery without special eyewear. However, due to low display resolution, many colors appear distorted compared to their representation on a flat-panel display. In addition, due to the unique nature of the display, some shapes, objects, and orientations can also appear distorted. This study examines the perceptual range of virtual objects in a Perspecta 3D volumetric display to determine which combination of object type, size, position, and color produces the best perceived 3D image. Across three experiments, we test different object types, hues, saturation levels of hues, and position within the volumetric display. Participants rated their hue and shape naming confidence as well as their ratings on solidity. Various significant main and interaction effects were exhibited among three separate experiments.

Previously, we (Havig, Aleva, Reis, Moore, and McIntire, 2007) presented a taxonomy for the development of three-dimensional (3D) displays. We proposed three levels of metrics: objective (in which physical measurements are made of the display), subjective (Likert-type rating scales to show preferences of the display), and subjective-objective (performance metrics in which one shows how the 3D display may be more or less useful than a 2D display or a different 3D display). We concluded that for each level of metric, drawing practical comparisons among currently disparate 3D displays is difficult. In this paper we attempt to define more clearly the objective metrics for 3D displays. We set out to collect and measure physical attributes of several 3D displays and compare the results. We discuss our findings in terms of both difficulties in making the measurements in the first place, due to the physical set-up of the display, to issues in comparing the results we found and comparing how similar (or dissimilar) two 3D displays may or may not be. We conclude by discussing the next steps in creating objective metrics for three-dimensional displays as well as a proposed way ahead for the other two levels of metrics based on our findings.

Continuing advances in commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) flat panel display components offer attractive opportunities for reducing overall display head costs while improving display performance as well as packaging efficiencies in size, weight, and power. Capturing these benefits requires consideration of multiple engineering and manufacturing trade-offs and can seem overwhelming to system integrators. Modification and/or integration of optical, mechanical and electronic components can be required to meet environmental or usage requirements which frequently exceed the performance envelope of COTS components. This study focuses on how to determine which trade-offs are important in particular applications and how to evaluate trade-off opportunities for cost and performance while maintaining conformance with application requirements.

A new avionics prototype has been developed combining a very large high-resolution display area with a touch panel designed for warfighter and civil-aviation use. This paper describes the design challenges as well as the prototype's capability and concept for application in airborne environments.

Significant opportunities exist to optimize performance and total cost of display enhancement windows. It explores how the impact of the approach of the designer to writing the specification, availability of new and advanced raw materials, the manufacturing processes and the vendor assessment contribute to the optimized performance-total cost solution.

The Aerospace and Defense display industry is in the midst of converting light the sources used in AMLCD backlighting technology from fluorescent lamps to LEDs. Although challenging, the fluorescent backlighting technology delivered good product in high end applications. LEDs, however, have the promise of even greater efficiency and lower cost. The history of LED backlighting is short and very dynamic; expectations are high and promises are many. It appears that for engineers developing backlights for high performance displays life has not become easier with the change of the technology. This paper will discuss just one of many challenges engineer's face: operation of LED backlights in high temperature environments. It will present experimental data showing several advantages of the RGB LED technology over other lamp technologies for high performance commercial and military application.

Defense and security applications of flat panel displays can benefit from advances in backlighting techniques and technologies to achieve improved contrast and brightness, enhanced chromaticity, lighter weight, thinner form factor, and overall power dissipation. Capturing these benefits requires consideration of multiple engineering and manufacturing trade-offs and can seem overwhelming for display-head designers. This study focuses on how to determine which trade-offs are important in particular applications, how to evaluate trade-off opportunities for cost and performance while maintaining conformance with applications requirements, and how to create and maintain an effective supply chain while adapting to constantly shifting COTS component availability.

OLED technology has captured the attention of commercial product developers, but is this technology suitable for military applications? The implementation of OLED technology into three military displays is described. The design, assembly and testing of these displays is discussed with the goal of addressing the question of suitability of OLED technology for military use. The results of optical and environmental testing are presented. The strengths and shortcomings of OLED technology are discussed. A conclusion on the benefit of OLED technology for military use is provided along with recommended goals for future OLED developments.

OLED technology has matured sufficiently to consider it a realistic candidate for military display applications. Manufacturing sources are transitioning from an early developer to a business focused and often rationalised supply base that already has a sustainable business model. New commercial products, with a growing list of applications are slowly swelling the list of available OLED display components that can be considered for military requirements. This paper describes an exploratory application of OLED technology to the Towed Artillery Digitisation (TAD) programme. The Gunners Display function in this system endures the most difficult environment available in Army programmes. By replicating the Gunners Display, we have confirmed that OLED technology is compatible with and technically almost ready for rugged military applications using newly available commercial sources.

In this paper, we propose the holographic reconstruction by overlapped pattern from the images that captured by Integral Image (II) method with some image processing. An elemental image array of 3D object is pick-upped by II method and modified to a sub-image array. Then each elemental hologram pattern is generated by each sub-image with computational technique then overlapped like uniform ratio. Finally, the overlapped hologram pattern is reconstructed using the reference wave which is used to the hologram generation process. In this simulation, the characters of 'KW' with different depth are used as 3D objects and pick-upped and processed using II method. Then processed image is successfully reconstructed using hologram technique.

Even though many kinds of approaches to generate CGH patterns of the 3D object image were suggested, but most of them could be applied to static 3D objects, so that we still need some possible approach for implementation of digital video holograms for the 3D moving pictures. In this paper, a new approach for fast computation of CGH patterns for 3D video images using the N-LUT by taking into account of temporal redundancy of 3D moving pictures is proposed. In addition, some simulations with test video images are carried out and the results are compared with those of the conventional methods. Finally the feasibility of the proposed method was confirmed.