DARPA Contract Calls for Prototype Embedded in AR Headset

Northrop Grumman has won a contract under DARPA’s Perceptually-enabled Task Guidance (PTG) programme to develop a prototype artificial-intelligence tool to assist pilots of rotary wing aircraft.

The company has partnered with the University of Central Florida for the project, which will create a system called OCARINA (for Operator and Context Adaptive Reasoning Intuitive Assistant). This will be used by pilots of UK-60 Black Hawk helicopters and will be used in both visual and instrumented flight.

The prototype is to be embedded in an augmented reality headset and will help pilots carry out a range of tasks, both normal and expected ones and those that arise in emergency or unexpected situations too. With currently fielded technology, when flying close to buildings, terrain, enemy weapon systems or other potential threats, pilots generally receive simple warnings, such as an audible message to ‘pull up’ or a flashing light on a particular cockpit display. A busy pilot may not always have sufficient cognitive bandwidth available to process the warnings properly, and, the company says, “inattentional blindness to such warnings can occur“.

The AI system to be developed will use sensors, worn by the pilot, which will tell the system what they know – an eye tracker, for instance, will allow the system to tell what displays the pilot may be looking at. The AR interface enables warnings to be projected inside the pilot’s visor, while speakers in the headset can provide audible assistance. The combination of visual and audible help will be delivered at the moment of need, and in the right place in the pilot’s field of view.

“The goal of this prototype is to broaden a pilot’s skillset,” said Erin Cherry, NG’s senior autonomy program manager. “It will help teach new tasks, aide in the recognition and reduction of errors, improve task completion time, and most importantly, help to prevent catastrophic events.”