Rotorcraft Terrain Awareness: Tau-based Approach to Helicopter Display Augmentation in Visual Degradation

Abstract

Helicopter pilot performance in degraded visual conditions may be improved through sensor fusion and an augmented reality (AR) display. A simulator experiment with 12 participants was done to test the effect of synthetic terrain grid cell size and helicopter heave dynamics on task performance and control behaviour in a terrain-following hill-climb task. An increase in grid cell size lowered task performance and increased control activity due to reduced optical information. Slower heave dynamics decreased task performance and led to a more prospective control strategy. It was concluded that an effective augmented reality terrain display for altitude control can be designed independently from the vehicle dynamics.