Tactile Situation Awareness System Flight Demonstration

Abstract : The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) - Tactile Situation Awareness System (TSAS) flight demonstration project originated at the NASA Johnson Space Center and the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory with funding provided from the JSF Program Office. The JSF-TSAS project was conceived as a short-duration technology maturation and flight demonstration program. The JSF Flight Systems Integrated Product Team (IPT) provided overall project management and funding throughout the demonstration effort. The project integrated a tactile display, F-22 cooling vest, and GPS/INS technologies into a single synergistic system in a UH-60 helicopter. A 10-event test operation was conducted to demonstrate the utility of this advanced human-machine interface. Four demonstration pilots were selected to fly the flight events. Summary results showed that TSAS technologies have the potential to increase pilot situational awareness and reduce pilot workload when using the tactile display, especially during simulated shipboard operations in Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC). Prototype hardware development showed that tactile displays could be integrated into existing flight gear. The test pilots successfully performed all maneuvers with degraded outside visual cues, relying on tactile cues for the necessary information. Using TSAS, pilots demonstrated improved control of aircraft during complex flight conditions.