INNOVATION IN MAN MACHINE INTERFACES: USE OF 3D CONFORMAL SYMBOLS IN THE DESIGN OF FUTURE HUDS (HEAD UP DISPLAYS)

Advantages of using HUDs in aviation have been already proven and this technology is widely being applied both in civil and military flight operations. HUDs are based on displaying data on a transparent layer allowing the pilot to simultaneously look at them and the outside world by means of a collimated projection. Commercial HUDs differ in the nature of the data they display and in the design of the interface. A considerable interest is currently being focused on the possibility of displaying conformal symbology, intended as geo-referenced symbols (as opposed to nonconformal navigation data), representing data that are usually displayed onto HDDs (Head Down Displays). While being associated with real features in the flight scenarios, such conformal symbols are typically based on twodimensional graphics. The aim of this work is to provide a simulator to investigate the use of threedimensional objects in the HUDs (Head Up Displays) to be installed in future cockpits. A Virtual Reality based HUD simulator has been conceived. It exploits a stereoscopic visualization screen where a double viewport has been created to overlay a computer generated HUD onto a synthetic flight scenario. The exploitation of such virtual prototyping systems in cockpit design is expected to give advantages in terms of an improved capability of following the evolution of safety and efficiency requirements.