The pico-projector, based on LED and laser diode light engines 0x9D , is considered a disruptive technology 0x9D and a game-changer 0x9D in the electro-optical marketplace. Auto-alignment systems are advancing rapidly and have the potential to make the pico-projector array feasible from an image quality and daily-readiness standpoint. With proper design and integration, this new technology will be uniquely beneficial to real-time applications and particularly for new and upgraded trainers, appended trainers, and even augmented reality systems for maintenance training. For the first time, it will be possible to induce halos and blooming in night vision devices and present essentially unlimited dynamic range of illumination for training real-world night missions, which are the most common and critical operations of the military. Q4 Services proposes to develop a Phase I concept that will provide a true high-fidelity, low-cost, and maintenance-friendly visual display system that is re-configurable across many simulator platforms supporting all modes and critical tasks. It will be ideal as a next generation projector technology for WIDE displays, which are ubiquitous in military and civilian flight trainers (with hundreds in use world-wide). It will be equally effective in increasing the fidelity of DART and CAVE type displays, as well as outdoor video walls.
Benefit: Physics algorithms and rendering software now exist to support high-fidelity, high dynamic range, NVG and sensor simulation, however as is the case with NVGs, the display technology has lagged behind in terms of dark level, contrast, resolution, brightness, and other characteristics needed to fully simulate the operational sensor display technology. Enhanced GenIII (the so-called GenIV 0x9D ) NVGs are at least twice as sensitive and have significantly increased resolution as well. Future NVG technology will undoubtedly continue to advance, which means that display technology for training systems is falling further behind operational fidelity. The Navy helicopter community has recently raised awareness of this issue and is calling for new solutions for higher fidelity Night Vision Goggle (NVG) training. Pico-projection technology represents an exceptional and even unique high-performance capability, that is, one with an unlimited dynamic range from the purest black to eye-squinting white while also achieving eye-limiting (and higher) resolution. In the Phase I program, it will be possible to demonstrate that halos and blooming can be induced in NVGs using multiple pico-projectors. The most promising pico-projector candidates will also be identified for real-time simulation applications. It will also be determined whether LEDs or laser diodes or a combination of the two is the best path forward based on technology trends. Although the pack of pico-projectors 0x9D needed to fill up a large simulator FOV is more than needed using traditional projectors, the new projectors will be less expensive on a unit basis and essentially maintenance-free. These projectors have low heat output and will not require any special cooling systems. And a light source outlasting the product itself is a first for military simulator-grade projectors! Ideally, it would be desirable to achieve a 50 0x9D diagonal image with a throw distance of only 3 inches. A 20 lumen high-def 0x9D pico-projector would yield about 2 Foot-Lamberts on a screen this size, and viewed from three feet away would be nearly eye-limiting in (vertical) resolution. However, imagery will require both true (absolute) black and at least 6 Ft-Lamberts of full-screen white at eye-limiting resolution, which will restrict the image size in the short term to less than 50 0x9D . The video processor will be one of the most challenging aspects of this program. The embedded auto-alignment system will either make or break the entire pico-projector array concept. Imagery must be completely seamless and essentially maintenance-free in order to be considered a viable replacement for traditional visual display systems. Current alignment systems only need to blend between two adjacent channels. However, within an array, each pico-projector may require blending with four adjacent channels. The small size of the pico-projectors will obviate the need for complicated folded-optics designs. Projection of imagery onto a rear-projection screen or other surface will be direct 0x9D rather than crossed 0x9D (as in traditional projector mounting configurations), which will help preserve the native/maximum contrast of the projectors. Direct projection also allows the insertion of baffles between individual projectors to further reduce any wash-out 0x9D of the native contrast from internal reflections or external/stray light sources. Coupling a pico-projector array to the back-projection-screen (BPS) of a WIDE display is highly efficient in terms of physical space and display performance, and is an application that will be pursued by Q4 Services as an extension of its existing WIDE display product line.
Keywords: contrast, contrast, pico projector, laser diode, resolution, visual display system, and brightness, night vision, DART and CAVE displays, real-world night missions, LED
