New Army Helmet Brings Augmented Reality to the Cockpit

X-Sight, a new helmet being tested by the U.S. Army, uses data from a number of sources to create a wider operational picture on the helmet’s visor. The system was tested with the Apache AH-64 helicopter and essentially gives the pilot eyes in the back of their head.

X-Sight features zero latency processing and 3D imagery, improving obstacles awareness, collision avoidance, and more, by creating Augmented Reality. (Augmented Reality overlays digitized images of the actual physical world, compared to Virtual Reality, which is an entirely simulated world.)

This new technology might at first seem like a sci-fi movie, especially since the wearer of the helmet appears to have the eyes of a fly, but is really an evolution of night vision goggles and other enhanced flight vision systems.

Take a look at the evolution of technology in aviation. The first autopilot system was invented less than a decade after the Wright brothers flew in Kitty Hawk. Some of the first night vision devices were used in World War II. In 1999, the FAA issued the first supplemental type certificate (STC) for night vision goggles in civil aviation. In 2017, the FAA issued rulemaking for enhanced vision flight systems (EVFS) in civil aircraft.

These milestones show the evolution of technology marching along in aviation applications, with the military often leading the way.

X-Sight is the latest in this evolution. The data collection and processing capabilities demonstrated by this new helmet are likely a building block to more autonomous operations, such as those proposed by some Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operators, which might rely heavily on detect and avoid and augmented reality technologies.