Volume 9, Number 6 • November/December 2001 • Aerospace Technology Development

Flying Laboratory Takes Synthetic Safety Tour

NASA researchers are testing a revolu-tionary cockpit technology that will help pilots avoid deadly accidents caused by poor visibility. A passenger jet equipped with futuristic, three-dimensional computer displays has been flown over the Rocky Mountains not far from Vail, Colorado.

Engineers from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia loaded a computer database depicting Vail’s mountainous terrain on board a NASA research aircraft known as ARIES or Airborne Research Integrated Experiments System.

ARIES is a highly modified Boeing 757 passenger jet transformed into a “flying simulator.”

The ARIES aircraft took off from the Colorado Springs Airport and made a number of flights over the Eagle County Regional Airport in support of the NASA Aviation Safety Program’s (AvSP) Synthetic Vision Systems project. The NASA AvSP is working with industry teams to create and refine Synthetic Vision, a revolutionary display system for cockpits that will offer pilots an electronic picture of what is outside their windows, no matter what the weather is like or the time of day.

During the three weeks of flights, pilots from NASA, Boeing, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and major airlines tested various Synthetic Vision display concepts in a real-life, difficult terrain environment. They evaluated display sizes, fields of view and computer graphic options to help determine which configurations will be most effective in preventing accidents. The system includes visual cues that will give pilots precision navigation guidance and help them to avoid obstacles.

Limited visibility is one of the greatest factors in most fatal aircraft accidents, according to Michael Lewis, director of the NASA Aviation Safety Program, headquartered at Langley. “With Global Positioning Satellite signals, pilots now can know exactly where they are,” said Lewis. “Add super-accurate terrain databases and graphical displays, and we can draw three-dimensional moving scenes that will show pilots exactly what is outside. The types of accidents that happen in poor visibility just don’t happen when pilots can see the terrain hazards ahead.”

The NASA Aviation Safety Program envisions a system that will use new and existing technologies to incorporate data into displays in aircraft cockpits. The displays will show terrain, ground obstacles, air traffic, landing and approach patterns, runway surfaces and other relevant data to the flight crew.

The NASA Aviation Safety Program is a partnership with the FAA, the Department of Defense, aircraft manufacturers, airlines and universities. This partnership supports a national goal of reducing the fatal aircraft accident rate by 80 percent in 10 years.

Researchers at four NASA field installations are working with the FAA and industry to develop advanced, affordable technologies to make flying safer. These centers include Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia; Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, California; Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California; and Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Q

For more information, contact Michael Braukus at NASA Headquarters, 202/358-1979, mbraukus@mail.hq.nasa.gov. Please mention you read about it in Innovation.

NASA Official: Jonathan Root • Web Design: Printing & Design Office, NASA Headquarters • Credits