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Aero Glass eye wear

Discussed here http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=116204 with less than universal approval ;)

Automation and better assistance while flying (and everything else) is inevitable, in spite of the naysayers voicing the wonders of old-school ADFs, VORs, de[a]d reckoning, pilotage, hand flying everywhere, etc. Sure, there's a place for that, but for many of us trying to go somewhere the future automation looks good.

I envy a bit the younger (20-40 year old) recreational pilots. They will have a great future in general aviation. Younger professional pilots, not so much, as they will be displaced from most or all non-passenger flying within their careers by automated aircraft (drones).
 
Even in their current state, I can see several uses for them. And if this technology can be made at least as reliable as current EFIS products (and I have no doubt it will, in due time) I can see them supplementing and possibly even replacing traditional panel-mounted avionics in at least some aircraft.

I think it will be especially beneficial for IFR operations. As I mentioned in another thread on the subject, wouldn't it be nice if there was a way to fly an instrument approach to minimums as easily (and in the same way) as you fly a visual pattern on a CAVU Saturday morning?
 
iLevil SW and Aero Glass

I have worn the Augmented Reality Glasses at Airventure integrated with the iLevil SW providing AHRS, GPS and ADS-B.

Together they are a game changer.

Yes, as with all new tech early adopters will jump right to take advantage of the technology. I can say the pilots who bought the packaged deal that incorporated iLevil SW and the Aero Glasses were tickled pink.

If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them.

Regards,

Joe
 
It'll take a while (years at least) but eventually something like this will become the norm IMO ...

It started with helmet mounted displays and sights, and as the technology matures and shrinks, it'll get democratized, and make its way into more cockpits ... just like HUDS are seeing more acceptance in civilian aircraft.

Augmenting reality is a far more intuitive way of presenting information that analog gauges and digital displays ... when the information becomes an integral part of your field of vision, you can perceive it and process it much more easily.

It doesn't apply to everything you might want to look at though, like getting an overview of an area (like a chart, or the weather information in your sector) beyond your field of vision. Integration with other sources of information is a challenge (what happens if you look down at your Foreflight on iPad with those glasses on? will they show you what's under you, obscuring the iPad screen?).

I think it's going to be a decade or two before this becomes truly prevalent and affordable, but when it does, man that will be amazing ...
 
I saw and spent quite a bit of time at the aero glass booth. I came real close to joining their beta program and buying a set of glasses. However unless you're using the iLevel AW, (this is the one that you can connect to your static system) it's a novelty right now. It is also somewhat restrictive as far as sight goes. It's the same information that is displayed on the iPad but in a heads up display. Unfortunately for a heads up display it's the wrong information. GPS altitude vs pressure altitude, ground speed vs air speed. My go flight is working on the same idea but projecting it using your mobile device, of course there is a connection to the projector that they want to sell you. IMHO that is the way to go. You can use any device ( iPad, nexus, etc) and any program ( garmin, fore flight, wing x). But even then a HUD without the correct info is to expensive to replace the information we have at our fingertips with a glance.
 
I saw and spent quite a bit of time at the aero glass booth. I came real close to joining their beta program and buying a set of glasses. However unless you're using the iLevel AW, (this is the one that you can connect to your static system) it's a novelty right now. It is also somewhat restrictive as far as sight goes. It's the same information that is displayed on the iPad but in a heads up display. Unfortunately for a heads up display it's the wrong information. GPS altitude vs pressure altitude, ground speed vs air speed. My go flight is working on the same idea but projecting it using your mobile device, of course there is a connection to the projector that they want to sell you. IMHO that is the way to go. You can use any device ( iPad, nexus, etc) and any program ( garmin, fore flight, wing x). But even then a HUD without the correct info is to expensive to replace the information we have at our fingertips with a glance.


Thank you for the write up, this is the information I needed and was looking for.....
 
Thank you for the write up, this is the information I needed and was looking for.....

I submitted my resume to them to participate in their beta testing. They called me back and said they wanted my input and would I purchase a pair at a discount for almost $2500. That was the end of that....
 
I'd buy a set in a heartbeat if they interfaced with my Dynon. But so long as they don't do PAlt and IAS, what's the point? Ground speed isn't needed in a HUD and neither is GPS Altitude.
 
Imagine AOA.
Imagine head tracking for ADSB traffic.
Imagine head tracking with "highway in the sky" while IMC.
 
I'd buy a set in a heartbeat if they interfaced with my Dynon. But so long as they don't do PAlt and IAS, what's the point? Ground speed isn't needed in a HUD and neither is GPS Altitude.

I believe they already have their own ADHARS unit that will read pressure altitude and airspeed. And it's probably just a matter of time before someone makes an adapter unit that picks those parameters off a Skyview/G3X/Horizon etc. databus and feeds it to the glasses.

Just give it a year or three.
 
I believe they already have their own ADHARS unit that will read pressure altitude and airspeed. And it's probably just a matter of time before someone makes an adapter unit that picks those parameters off a Skyview/G3X/Horizon etc. databus and feeds it to the glasses.

Just give it a year or three.

All of those brands already output what they need...and they make the protocol public so anyone can use it....

If hobbyist like me can build a remote AOA indicator and other stuff that uses this data that is given away freely then surly the geniuses behind the Aero Glass should be able to pull it off.
 
Imagine AOA.
Imagine head tracking for ADSB traffic.
Imagine head tracking with "highway in the sky" while IMC.

If you're IMC, you're looking at the panel anyway.

ADSB for traffic is only as accurate as the last update or the position broadcast. Ever notice how the hits tend to jump? If you're not looking at the airplane itself, it does no good.
 
If you're IMC, you're looking at the panel anyway.

But what if flying IMC meant looking "outside" via head-mounted display--a HUD-like pitch/attitude display with airspeed, altitude, and heading; highway-in-the-sky guidance, synthetic terrain and runways, traffic, etc.--instead of looking at a couple of small gauges or displays and trying to build that picture up in your head? I think this is the real eventual promise for this kind of technology.

I mean, how often do we tell VFR pilots "look out the window, not at your instruments!"? One look out the window on a clear day is far, far superior for attitude and terrain awareness. It's an intuitive picture of runway alignment, navigation (if suitable landmarks exist), and general flying in the pattern. We don't have to consciously build that picture in our heads because we just see it.

But then as soon as we (in general) hit IMC, we start looking at little abstracted gauges fixed to the panel. For attitude, we basically look out a little soda straw of a window at a fake horizon. For navigation, we look at a compass and use a couple of pointers that tell us how far off from our selected navigation source we are and use that to figure out where on a fixed map that corresponds to (unless we have a GPS map); for approaches, we keep a couple needles centered and try to hit certain numbers shown on a chart, since we can't just look out the window and simply see where we are. How is that "better"?

That's the promise of this technology--the potential to give pilots better information in a more intuitive format. It might just be a fancy toy still in its infancy right now, but eventually--and it will happen one day, even if the FAA and many pilots have to be dragged kicking and screaming, and even if it takes thirty years--it will be reliable enough, and affordable enough, to replace our current panel-mounted avionics.
 
All of those brands already output what they need...and they make the protocol public so anyone can use it....

Disclaimer: I work for Dynon.

Brian, The issue is that the Google and Epson glasses only have WiFi and Bluetooth connections. So they don't have a convenient way to take serial and get it into their systems. Not that it can't be done, but it isn't as clean and easy as one of the WiFi AHRS units.

I wish these guys luck. I think they can implement some really neat features, but I also think they have some really hard to solve challenges ahead.

The thing I haven't figured out is why they need an AHRS at all. The AHRS is strapped to the airframe, which is pretty useless when you are trying to draw a horizon line that is on a screen hooked to your head. Until they have the AHRS in the glasses themselves, or head tracking relative to the airframe, I haven't figured out how this system will work at all. Who cares if the plane is rolled 30 degrees to the left if you have your head looking 45 degrees up and to the right? You've got to know how the head is pointed in relation to the earth to be able to draw anything useful at all.

I also have to wonder what the FAA is going to think of a system whose goal it is to obscure the direct visual acquisition of an aircraft with a big projected dot on top of it so you can no longer clearly see the aircraft. What about that airplane that is directly at your altitude and thus is obscured by the horizon line the whole time as he flies right at you, but he's not on ADS-B? Seems kind of like having a screen between you and the world makes every flight IFR since your ability to directly see and avoid is being interfered with.

10 years ago we just started to have glass screens in GA aircraft. I bet the next 10 years will be just as interesting.
 
If you're IMC, you're looking at the panel anyway.

In truth, this is all pie-in-the-sky for now.


When I was working on my instrument rating, one of the cautionary tales from my instructor was the critical transition period between IMC and landing. With two-pilot environments, we were taught that one keeps his eyes one the panel and the other out the window so if the landing had to be aborted, the panel flyer was still engaged.

With single pilot IFR, the glasses could show the "highway in the sky" and relative attitude for the missed approach as an aid to the pilot as he transitions from visual back to instruments.

It will be interesting to watch this technology evolve !
 
"I believe they already have their own ADHARS unit that will read pressure altitude and airspeed. And it's probably just a matter of time before someone makes an adapter unit that picks those parameters off a Skyview/G3X/Horizon etc. databus and feeds it to the glasses."

Currently they do not have their own unit. They have partnered with iLevil that makes a unit that you have to attach to your static system. It's the iLevil AW and sells for about $1400. I believe that iLevil is the only manufacture of this type of unit. At their booth in Oshkosh they were promoting the basic iLevel that is not integrated with your static system.
Personally I don't know of a way to get airspeed and pressure altitude without being linked into the plane's static system. That means this is an experimental only option for a long time IMHO.
Also I agree that as long as there are planes out there that aren't reporting out your eyes need to be outside the cockpit. These glasses definitely obstruct your vision. Put a pair on. Your eyes immediately focus on the info in front of you and with glasses on you can turn you head and the info is still in front of you.
They also had a pair of google glasses there to demo so the info was up in the right hand corner. So you still are glancing away ( just like we currently do with the iPad)
And without installing an iLevil AW, at $1400, you are glancing away or focusing on incorrect information ground speed vs airspeed etc.
But if you install the iLevil AW you can have all that on your iPad now!!
BTW I don't have the iLevil too expensive!!!
 
At work I just got a sample unit of a little flight-worthy computer. It has serial, usb, LAN, ARINC 429, ARINC 717 and analog inputs. ARINC 429, 717, serial, USB, audio, video and a million other outs. You could use one of those to do this... just need an ADAHRS in the airplane and an AHRS on your head.

Too bad the little box is $28k.
 
The thing I haven't figured out is why they need an AHRS at all. The AHRS is strapped to the airframe, which is pretty useless when you are trying to draw a horizon line that is on a screen hooked to your head. Until they have the AHRS in the glasses themselves, or head tracking relative to the airframe, I haven't figured out how this system will work at all.

I am sort of part time working on a system similar to what Tom Cruise used in whatevertheheck that movie was with the precogs and future crime. Essentially a mouse glove. I intend to use it when I do public speaking. Essentually I will wave my hand in the air and crook my fingers to control a mouse via Bluetooth. I am doing this with a 3 MEMS gyro plus an atmel 328 some strain gauges

The 3 gyro package uses a standard SPI interface and cost about $10. It is sensitive (note: sensitive, it necessarily accurate) to at least 3 decimal places, very low power, size of a postage stamp, and could easily be used for this. The gyro component itself is a single chip. One could easily build 3 of them on to the glasses frames with a voting algorithm very cheaply and easily.
 
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