SOAR TECHNOLOGY, LLC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: N172-117

Description

Spatial Disorientation (SD) is cited as a contributing factor in five to ten percent of all aviation incidents; and has a 90% fatality rate (Heinle & Ercoline, 2002). SD impacts both fixed- and rotor-wing aviators, and SD impacts pilots at every skill level. To combat SD, aviation training provides exposure to SD materials at multiple points in the training process, including classroom-based instruction and full-motion flight simulators. Availability for hardware systems, however, limit the SD exposure an aviator can have (Ercoline, 1997). Enhancing classroom-based SD instruction into more engaging visual formats is a potential solution to augment SD training. Soar Technology, Inc. proposes a playback-generation tool for Training Wing Mishap Awareness Narratives (WingMAN). WingMAN will allow an instructor to gather data from multiple sources to create a visual playback of any mishap for which data is available, including editing existing playbacks. At the end of Phase II, WingMAN will also support automating the integration of aircraft state data, incident audio recordings, and text-based information. WingMAN will support playback via a first-person 3D out-the-window visualizer, will support exporting narrative playbacks to a variety of formats suitable for delivery on desktops, mobile devices, and in Virtual Reality headsets.