NASA SimLabs Installs the Operational Based Vision Assessment (OBVA) Simulator at Wright Patterson Air Force Base
October 9, 2012
The OBVA installation
The US Air Force (USAF) at Wright Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) (Ohio) formally accepted delivery of the OBVA simulator designed, built, and installed by NASA Ames Simulation Laboratories (SimLabs) in partnership with Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA Ames' Human Systems Integration Division. The USAF provided NASA with over $4 million for this project through a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement. The OBVA concept is aimed at helping determine the correct level of vision standards and the associated operational risks by correlating clinical vision standards with aircrew operational performance. The average Air Force pilot has 20/13 vision. The OBVA simulator is designed to produce an image that would challenge a pilot with 20/10 visual acuity. To achieve the required resolution in the simulator, images from 25 movie theater projectors are blended together on a 26 foot diameter screen with a 180 degree horizontal by 90 degree vertical field-of-view. Two high resolution visual databases and a reconfigurable aircraft cockpit were also designed, developed and delivered to the Air Force to complete the simulation system. (POC: Dean Giovannetti, Nghia Vuong)
A projected image with an aircraft at a 60-70 degree bank angle