Remote Tower Experimental System with Augmented Vision Videopanorama

Abstract

The goal of the research described in this chapter was the development and setup of an initial experimental version of the “Virtual Tower” with focus on replacement of the direct view out-of-windows. Specifically, the intermediate step of a Remote Tower Operation (RTO) work environment for remote surveillance and control of small airports is described which served for verifying the main functionalities. A structured work and task analysis detailed the requirements on the new human-machine interface (HMI) and emphasized the “far view” out of the tower windows as im-portant information source. Consequently a digital high-resolution videopanorama system was implemented as cen-tral HMI-component to replace the airport tower out-the-window view. Field tests using this reconstructed panorama indicated the effective visual resolution for object detection to show reasonable agreement with theoretical predictions under ideal conditions. As addition to the panorama an inte-grated zoom function provided an enlarged narrow-angle "foveal" component by means of a remotely controlled pan-tilt-zoom camera with tracking functionality. The digital reconstruction of the far view allowed for integration of “video-see-through” augmented vision features by integration and superposition of e.g. weather and electronic surveillance data, and it allowed for video replay of stored surveillance information.