Physical Optics Corporation — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF151-020

Description

ABSTRACT:To address the Air Force need for F-35 cockpit display improvements, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) proposes to develop the new Revolutionary Avionics Display (RAD) system, based on the integration of a touch-integrated high resolution ruggedized LCD, quantum dot (QD) enhanced and NVIS-compatible backlight, video acquisition and upscaling processor, and ruggedized packaging. The innovative integration and modification of state-of-the-art technologies to meet the Air Force requirements, based on unique POC capability and experience in avionics display, will lead to an epochal shift in cockpit display technologies. In Phase I, POC plans to demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed approach by designing and developing a system architecture that meets the F-35 form-factor while incorporating display technology improvements, touch/gesture controls, and optimizes SWaP and thermal performance. Pilot effectiveness improvements will be considered through internal testing and feedback from end-users. A roadmap for feature introduction will be refined along with a formal transition plan with life-cycle cost analysis. In Phase II, POC will fabricate and test a prototype system and assess production readiness, supply chain reliability, and update our transition plan leading directly to Phase III production of the RAD system, as well as development of a detailed Air Force human systems integration plan.BENEFIT:The RAD technology can be adapted to commercial aviation displays and medical display applications where typically the display performance is critical and extends beyond standard consumer display performance requirements. The RAD technology can be incorporated into industrial display systems for factories and aerospace displays systems for space explorations missions including spaceship cockpit displays and vehicle displays. Military applications of the RAD system will include: upgrades to legacy avionics displays and ground vehicle displays. The technology may progress to personal displays used by solders including kneeboard/chest display systems or head-worn displays. The RAD technology can be incorporated by the DoD into all the F-35 and V-22 variants for each branch and be adopted by the Navy for ship and submersible displays to provide enhanced sensor data information content in the form of larger color gamut and higher resolution. Additionally, pilots for unmanned vehicles can utilize the displays to monitor live feeds from EO/IR sensors that typically contain higher resolutions and bit-depth than what the existing displays can reproduce.