TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Human Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-205

OBJECTIVE: Develop innovative solutions, usage guidelines, or training tools in order to minimize the adverse impacts of onboard flight simulators on training and flight performance.

DESCRIPTION: Flight simulators play a key role in pilot training and establishing and maintaining readiness for Naval aviation. This role is expanding as simulator capability continues to increase and can strongly supplement actual flight, in some cases provide training credit for specific flight events, and deliver mission rehearsal capabilities for deployed aviation. However, problems with simulator sickness are expected to encumber inclusion as a viable forward deployed training component. The causes of these negative effects have long been understood, but remain one of the largest impediments to successfully integrating flight simulation systems onboard ships. Utilizing flight simulators on-ship introduces the additional complication of potentially short lag times between simulation and actual flight. Without simulator sickness remediation, emerging portable flight simulation mission rehearsal systems may impair actual mission performance.

Research suggests that issues such as transport delay/latency, refresh rates, field of view, vestibular-ocular uncoupling are at the heart of simulation sickness and cyber-sickness. These studies have presented some potential mitigation and prevention techniques. Innovative solutions, usage guidelines, or training tools are sought to prevent simulator sickness. Possible solutions include but are not limited to are visual entrainment, visual backgrounds, predictive algorithms for latency reduction, structured exposures, as well as gaining greater insights into understanding individual differences to sickness susceptibility and concepts such as field blanking.

PHASE I: Identify candidate usage guidelines/tools/methodologies to minimize simulator/cyber-sickness and demonstrate proof of concept. Conduct an analysis of current impact of ship-based simulator/cyber-sickness and predicted value of mitigation.

PHASE II: Develop comprehensive systems-based approach combining technical solutions and practical usage guidelines. Design and build prototype device or process based on research conducted during Phase I. Conduct test and evaluation of the prototype device/process on simulated ship-motion base. Produce any necessary manuals for trainers and instructors / operators of the forward deployed simulation devices.

PHASE III: Enhance prototype developed in Phase II and integrate/install in existing flight simulators. Transition the prototype to other flight training organization as well as other relevant training groups.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: Such systems could also have a dual application for any type of simulator (ground, undersea, surface, etc.). The training system would also have a wide applicability to commercial aviation.

REFERENCES:
1. Brendley, K.W., Muth, E., Cohn, J. and Marti, J. (2003), Reducing Motion Sickness Through Visual Entrainment, Proceedings of Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), San Antonio, TX.

2. Duh, B., Parker, D. and Furness, T. (2001). An "independent visual background" reduced balance disturbance evoked by visual scene motion: implication for alleviating simulator sickness. In Proceedings of CHI 2001 conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (ACM CHI 2001), pp. 85-89.

3. Jones, M. B.; Kennedy, R. S.; Stanney, K. (2004). Toward Systematic Control of Cybersickness. Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments, Vol. 13 Issue 5, p589-600.

4. Lin, J., Abi-Rached, H., Kim, D., Parker, D., and Furness, T. (2002). A "natural" independent visual background reduced simulator sickness. Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society 46th Annual Meeting – 2002, pp. 2124-2128.

5. Muth, E. & Lawson, B. (2003). Using Flight Simulators Aboard Ships: Human Side Effects of an Optimal Scenario with Smooth Seas. Aviat Space Environ Med; 74:497-505.

KEYWORDS: Training; Simulation; Sickness; Aviation; Mission-Rehearsal; Onboard Training System

TPOC: (407)380-4631
2nd TPOC: (301)757-8097