Image to right: This Synthetic Vision Systems display illustrates how SVS technology combines Global Positioning System satellite signals with models of the earth's surface and relevant features to give pilots a clear picture of the environment outside the cockpit regardless of weather or time of day. SVS have been tested on a number of aircraft including a Gulfstream GV, a C-17, and a Boeing 757. Image credit: NASA Langley Research Center/Jeff Caplan

Flight tests continued on the Synthetic Vision Systems (SVS) project—a new technology that combines Global Positioning System satellite signals with an on-board photo-realistic database to paint an electronic picture for pilots of what's outside the cockpit, regardless of weather or time of day.

Technicians equipped a Boeing 757 jet with sophisticated cockpit displays and radar equipment, as well as an enhanced weather radar capability to help pilots spot traffic and obstacles that aren't part of the Synthetic Vision terrain computerized atlas. The enhancement was software added to the aircraft's X-band weather radar to help produce a more detailed picture of what the radar would normally see and thus verify the accuracy of the Synthetic Vision terrain display.

During the test, pilots from the airlines, the Federal Aviation Administration and aircraft manufacturers flew the 757 on approach to NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island in Virginia. For most of the research tests, the front windows of the evaluation pilot were blocked in order to force reliance on the synthetic vision and enhanced vision displays. A safety pilot with unobstructed view was on stand-by to take over if necessary.

NASA tested this version of "enhanced vision" to determine if it can effectively fill in the gaps and help pilots see hazards, such as traffic on the runway or even a cellular tower recently added to the landscape.

Synthetic Vision and Enhanced Vision Test Team
NASA Langley Research Center, American Airlines, United Airlines, Rockwell Collins, The Boeing Company, FAA, RTI