Helmet‐Mounted Displays and Sights

Citation

Galletly, J.E. (2000), "Helmet‐Mounted Displays and Sights", Kybernetes, Vol. 29 No. 4, pp. 523-529. https://doi.org/10.1108/k.2000.29.4.523.2

This book addresses aspects of the design and use of helmet‐mounted displays and sights. The emphasis is on the basic human factors associated with the use of such helmet‐mounted displays, as well as the characteristics of head‐coupled devices. As the author says in the preface, although “the concept and potential of (such) applications has fascinated the aviation community for three decades”, their use has now spread to medical, training and virtual reality situations. The book is intended for specialist readers – engineers who are involved in the design and integration of such displays and sights, although it makes interesting reading for the uninitiated. There is good coverage of the many areas of physics and mathematics involved. It is one title in the Artech House Optoelectronics Library.

The book comprises ten chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the history and terminology of the field. Chapter 2 explores the human factors associated with visually‐coupled systems, specifically focusing on those related to the visual perception of the display image. The next chapter concentrates on the ideal qualities and design parameters of these devices, examining properties such as image resolution, brightness and field of view. Chapter 4 deals with various display parameters such as luminance, contrast ratio and fibre‐optic faceplates, while chapter 5 examines the optics of such systems: lenses, diffraction effects, field curvature and so on. The details of head‐position measurement take up the next chapter, while the one after that explains the symbology and information that may be presented on a helmet‐mounted display. Chapter 8 moves into the biological realms of this field, investigating various biodynamic effects such as the exposure of the human wearer to vibrations and accelerations, as well as image stabilization factors. Following this, the integration of the system with the actual helmet is covered, addressing the mechanical aspects of mounting the display and sight on the helmet.

Finally, the last chapter reviews potential applications of head‐mounted devices.

Altogether, this is an interesting book containing much information. Although appealing more to a very specialist market, it deserves a mention for those interested in a perusal of this fascinating field.