High-resolution vision system
First Claim
1. A high-resolution vision system for an observer having a field of view related to a predetermined reference axis comprising:
- a helmet worn on the head of the observer;
apparatus on said helmet for mounting eye-tracking display means having an image presentation which is slaved to the eye line of sight of the observer;
a remote source of visual information including at least a first and a second pick-up sensor;
servo means for adjusting the orientation of said remote source with respect to said reference axis, the angular orientation thereof with respect to said axis being related to the angular orientation of said helmet and the eye angle of said observer;
communications means between said remote source and said helmet-mounted display means for transmitting visual information signals and control signals therebetween;
at least a first and a second light projecting means in said display means for producing light-information signals in response to visual information derived from said remote source;
means inserting said light signals from said first projecting means into a selected area of said light signals from said second light projecting means;
angularly adjustable optical means in said display means for superimposing the combined image of said light signals of the field of view of the observer by directing light carrying said signals into at least one eye of the observer with the area of the inserted image having a predetermined relationship with said line of sight;
monitoring means operatively associated with said helmet for measuring angular displacement thereof with respect to said reference axis and for producing control signals indicative of such angular displacement;
monitoring means operatively associated with said display means for measuring angular displacement of said optical superimposing means with respect to said eye line of sight and for producing control signals indicative of such angular displacement;
means responsive to said control signals from said eye line of sight monitoring means for adjusting the orientation of said optical superimposing means such that the orientation of said light information signals viewed by the observer remains substantially constant with respect to said eye line of sight; and
means responsive to the control signals from both said eye line of sight monitoring means and said helmet angle monitoring means for adjusting the angular orientation of said remote visual information source such that the angular orientation thereof remains substantially constant with respect to said line of sight.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A high-resolution vision system comprising remotely positioned image-sensing means, such as a TV camera, and a head-mounted display that is used by an observer to view the image picked up by the remote sensors. Both the sensing means and the display are servo controlled to follow the eye line-of-sight (LOS) of the observer. The eye LOS is characterized by the eye angle of the observer with respect to his head plus the head angle with respect to a reference axis, such as the center line of an aircraft. Because the display follows eye motion by means of a servoed mirror or beamsplitter in front of the eye, the eye always looks at a fixed point on the display. The resolution of the display preferably is increased on the LOS so that the display characteristics closely match the eye, i.e., high resolution on the eye LOS and lower resolution in the peripheral region. This preferably is accomplished by using dual sensing means, such as dual TV cameras, one with a wide and the other with a narrow field of view. The output from these sensing means is processed by head-mounted cathode ray tubes, then optically combined with preferably a 1:1 magnification, and projected into the eye by means of the servoed beamsplitter. In a further embodiment of the invention, the sensing means can be a computer, resulting in optical images that appear fixed in space. Alternately, the computer-generated images can follow head motion.
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Citations
10 Claims
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1. A high-resolution vision system for an observer having a field of view related to a predetermined reference axis comprising:
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a helmet worn on the head of the observer; apparatus on said helmet for mounting eye-tracking display means having an image presentation which is slaved to the eye line of sight of the observer; a remote source of visual information including at least a first and a second pick-up sensor; servo means for adjusting the orientation of said remote source with respect to said reference axis, the angular orientation thereof with respect to said axis being related to the angular orientation of said helmet and the eye angle of said observer; communications means between said remote source and said helmet-mounted display means for transmitting visual information signals and control signals therebetween; at least a first and a second light projecting means in said display means for producing light-information signals in response to visual information derived from said remote source; means inserting said light signals from said first projecting means into a selected area of said light signals from said second light projecting means; angularly adjustable optical means in said display means for superimposing the combined image of said light signals of the field of view of the observer by directing light carrying said signals into at least one eye of the observer with the area of the inserted image having a predetermined relationship with said line of sight; monitoring means operatively associated with said helmet for measuring angular displacement thereof with respect to said reference axis and for producing control signals indicative of such angular displacement; monitoring means operatively associated with said display means for measuring angular displacement of said optical superimposing means with respect to said eye line of sight and for producing control signals indicative of such angular displacement; means responsive to said control signals from said eye line of sight monitoring means for adjusting the orientation of said optical superimposing means such that the orientation of said light information signals viewed by the observer remains substantially constant with respect to said eye line of sight; and means responsive to the control signals from both said eye line of sight monitoring means and said helmet angle monitoring means for adjusting the angular orientation of said remote visual information source such that the angular orientation thereof remains substantially constant with respect to said line of sight. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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Specification