Cyclic Hotline
13th Oct 2006, 21:20
Vibrating vests could save lives
Military developing device to help keep rescue helicopter pilots safe on the job
By CHRIS LAMBIE Staff Reporter
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Defence scientists are spending $430,000 to develop a vibrating vest that will give search and rescue helicopter pilots tactile cues about their aircraft’s position in the sky.
The two-year project will design vests that deliver vibrations pilots can sense on their skin.
"If you have the little vibrators introduce a pattern that moved up the trunk, so it started down near your waist and you felt that wave of activity moving up, it might indicate that the aircraft is going up," said Keith Hendy, deputy director general of Defence Research and Development Canada.
"If it started near you neck and started to move down over your chest, you might think that the aircraft is descending. If you feel the vibration just on your front, it might be going forward. If you feel it on your back, it might be going back, and the same with the sides."
Scientists hope the vests will be useful for whiteout landings and hovering above rescue victims in the water or on the ground. It should keep them from running into the ground and allow a pilot to keep his helicopter localized over one spot.
"Helicopters, of course, with their rotor wash can kick up spray if they’re over the ocean, or snow if they’re over snowy terrain or, if they’re in places like Afghanistan, dust clouds, all of which can obscure the vision of the pilot and they lose reference of where they are with respect to the earth," said Mr. Hendy, an electrical engineer.
"So the aircraft could pitch quite violently nose down and they may never realize it. It’s too late."
The U.S. military has done some work on similar vests. But Canadian scientists will look at better ways to integrate the vibrating devices into clothing and the most effective patterns for conveying information to pilots.
The vests will be tested at the National Research Council’s flight research laboratory in Ottawa.
"This, to my mind, is an interim technology that you may see coming into aircraft over the next 10 or so years," Mr. Hendy said. "But I think it will be eventually replaced by advanced head-up displays and graphical interfaces that can provide clear view days even if the weather is inclement."
Larry McWha, a former Canadian Forces helicopter pilot, doubts the vests would have helped to prevent the July 13 crash of a Canadian Forces Cormorant rescue helicopter off Canso that killed three of the chopper’s crewmen.
"The Cormorant is a pretty automatic cockpit and it already has voices that come on and tell you if you’re too low or to do this or to do that if something’s going wrong," said Mr. McWha, a retired colonel.
The vests would more likely be used in older helicopters, like the Sea Kings or Griffons, he said.
"I can’t believe that they would be developing such a device as a backup or a second system (for the Cormorants) because some things that people already complain about is that there are just too many prompts and too many signals coming in to the pilot anyway right now."
The vest could create confusion if the signals didn’t match other cues, Mr. McWha said.
"That’s not to say that you couldn’t use it in a Cormorant, but I think that they would probably find it unwise to do that because of the potential for conflicting signals to the pilot," he said.
There’s already something in the cockpit of most helicopters "that slaps you in the face if you’re doing something wrong," Mr. McWha said with a chuckle. "It’s called a co-pilot."
Mr. Hendy, who is also a pilot, said he was "a bit of a disbeliever" initially.
"I thought, ‘Oh God, here’s another thing that I’ve got to wear,’ and, ‘Maybe it isn’t the way to do it.’ But I was actually very surprised and very pleased to see how positive this technology was in providing cues to pilots that they wouldn’t otherwise have."
The vests could also have a wide range of applications outside the military, ranging from heavy-lift helicopters that assemble buildings to police choppers that chase felons at night, Mr. Hendy said.
"Pretty well any rotary wing operation where visibility can be degraded for whatever reason could potentially make use of this sort of technology," he said.
[email protected]
Military developing device to help keep rescue helicopter pilots safe on the job
By CHRIS LAMBIE Staff Reporter
ADVERTISEMENT
Defence scientists are spending $430,000 to develop a vibrating vest that will give search and rescue helicopter pilots tactile cues about their aircraft’s position in the sky.
The two-year project will design vests that deliver vibrations pilots can sense on their skin.
"If you have the little vibrators introduce a pattern that moved up the trunk, so it started down near your waist and you felt that wave of activity moving up, it might indicate that the aircraft is going up," said Keith Hendy, deputy director general of Defence Research and Development Canada.
"If it started near you neck and started to move down over your chest, you might think that the aircraft is descending. If you feel the vibration just on your front, it might be going forward. If you feel it on your back, it might be going back, and the same with the sides."
Scientists hope the vests will be useful for whiteout landings and hovering above rescue victims in the water or on the ground. It should keep them from running into the ground and allow a pilot to keep his helicopter localized over one spot.
"Helicopters, of course, with their rotor wash can kick up spray if they’re over the ocean, or snow if they’re over snowy terrain or, if they’re in places like Afghanistan, dust clouds, all of which can obscure the vision of the pilot and they lose reference of where they are with respect to the earth," said Mr. Hendy, an electrical engineer.
"So the aircraft could pitch quite violently nose down and they may never realize it. It’s too late."
The U.S. military has done some work on similar vests. But Canadian scientists will look at better ways to integrate the vibrating devices into clothing and the most effective patterns for conveying information to pilots.
The vests will be tested at the National Research Council’s flight research laboratory in Ottawa.
"This, to my mind, is an interim technology that you may see coming into aircraft over the next 10 or so years," Mr. Hendy said. "But I think it will be eventually replaced by advanced head-up displays and graphical interfaces that can provide clear view days even if the weather is inclement."
Larry McWha, a former Canadian Forces helicopter pilot, doubts the vests would have helped to prevent the July 13 crash of a Canadian Forces Cormorant rescue helicopter off Canso that killed three of the chopper’s crewmen.
"The Cormorant is a pretty automatic cockpit and it already has voices that come on and tell you if you’re too low or to do this or to do that if something’s going wrong," said Mr. McWha, a retired colonel.
The vests would more likely be used in older helicopters, like the Sea Kings or Griffons, he said.
"I can’t believe that they would be developing such a device as a backup or a second system (for the Cormorants) because some things that people already complain about is that there are just too many prompts and too many signals coming in to the pilot anyway right now."
The vest could create confusion if the signals didn’t match other cues, Mr. McWha said.
"That’s not to say that you couldn’t use it in a Cormorant, but I think that they would probably find it unwise to do that because of the potential for conflicting signals to the pilot," he said.
There’s already something in the cockpit of most helicopters "that slaps you in the face if you’re doing something wrong," Mr. McWha said with a chuckle. "It’s called a co-pilot."
Mr. Hendy, who is also a pilot, said he was "a bit of a disbeliever" initially.
"I thought, ‘Oh God, here’s another thing that I’ve got to wear,’ and, ‘Maybe it isn’t the way to do it.’ But I was actually very surprised and very pleased to see how positive this technology was in providing cues to pilots that they wouldn’t otherwise have."
The vests could also have a wide range of applications outside the military, ranging from heavy-lift helicopters that assemble buildings to police choppers that chase felons at night, Mr. Hendy said.
"Pretty well any rotary wing operation where visibility can be degraded for whatever reason could potentially make use of this sort of technology," he said.
[email protected]