<title>Automated techniques for characterizing and testing helmet-mounted displays</title>

Abstract

With ever-increasing applications for Helmet Mounted Displays (HMD) and current high-volume production rates, the development of automated measurement equipment and techniques for characterization and testing displays becomes paramount to delivering a consistent and quality product. This paper examines the requirements that drive the need for automated HMD testing and the interrelationships that exist between the design of the prime hardware and its test equipment. Topics presented include the following: Design of an automated optical measurement bench that maximizes the use of COTS hardware and software and is readily adaptable to different HMD designs. Specialized tooling requirements. Methods of achieving HMD alignment to the optical Line of Sight (LOS). Development of reusable test software components. Algorithms for predicting the location of images in the HMD reference frame, including coordinate transformations and search algorithms. Issues concerning characterization of image sources and optical components are presented utilizing case studies. Actual production throughput data is compared with data from more traditional test methods to emphasize the advantages of this approach. Finally, actual results of achievable accuracy using the automated optical measurement bench are presented.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.