<title>Integration, calibration, and testing of resistor array dynamic infrared scene projector on the outer axis of a five-axis flight motion simulator for real-time hardware-in-the-loop simulations</title>

Abstract

The Air Force Development Test Center's (AFDTC) Guided Weapons Evaluation Facility (GWEF), is designed to test guided munitions performance using Hardware-In-the-Loop simulations. Evaluation of imaging infrared guided munitions requires the generation and projection of complex infrared (IR) `fly-in' scenes to the unit under test which is mounted to a flight motion simulator. Members of AFDTC's 46 Test Wing and Avionics Systems Command's Wright Labs have teamed to develop and integrate this capability within the GWEF and Wright Lab's Kinetic Kill Hardware-In-the-Loop Simulation (KHILS) facility. The major Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) components for the GWEF include an IR scene generator, an IR projector, a five axis flight motion simulator (FMS), a 6 degree of freedom missile flight simulation, and the opto- mechanical interface to mount the projector onto the 5 axis FMS. GWEF's unique HIL solution is utilizing the 512 X 512 resistor array technology developed by KHILS, and off- the-shelf state-of-the-art scene generation computer, FMS, and optics. Details on this in-house development effort include acquisition and configuration/integration issues, thermal information to radiance bandpass output validation, IR scene generation and frame latency, generated IR scene input to projected output calibration, and simulation guidance from launch to impact verification. This capability has been successfully integrated into the GWEF, meeting a March 1996 HIL test.