Integration of a helmet-mounted display for helicopter operations in degraded visual environment: a human factors perspective

Abstract

Helicopter operations in degraded visual environment (DVE), especially brownout/whiteout landings often result in severe incidents and accidents in the civil and military field. In fact, landing in desert environment is the most dangerous aspect of flying in combat helicopters according to the USAF. The integration of a helmet-mounted display (HMD) can help the pilot to maintain situation awareness, avoid spatial disorientation and reduce workload. Nevertheless, if not integrated properly, drawbacks (e.g. clutter, field-of-view, display latency, symbology legibility etc.) may lead to perceptual problems, attentional tunneling and wearing discomfort. In a simulator study, DLR compared three different brownout symbology sets and three display formats (HMD monocular, HMD binocular, head-down) during a DVE approach and a whiteout landing. Flight performance, situation awareness and pilot workload and were assessed. Furthermore, a detailed debriefing covered visual, perceptual and somatic aspects of helmet-mounted display use and an evaluation of the symbology sets. The paper will first discuss general human factors aspects associated with helmet-mounted displays in helicopter operations, provide an overview on symbology design considerations and finally present selected results of the conducted study.