Phase I SBIR: Battlefield Airmen Augmented Reality System

September 8, 2017

The Air Force has selected Perceptive Innovations for the AF171-030 Phase I SBIR program to develop a system design concept for BAARS, the Battlefield Airmen Augmented Reality System. In this effort, PI2 will develop a low-latency multispectral digital helmet-mountable near-to-eye augmented reality system for use by Battlefield Airmen, capable of use to aid vision in night, day, and all-weather operations. In this project, we will leverage our ongoing Phase II work with AFRL developing the Low-Latency Embedded Vision Processor (LLEVS), which is developing and demonstrating a self-contained image processing system with the ultimate in low-latency for AR/VR, hosted on a 16nm low power FPGA SoC also capable of hosting all computing functions for BAARS. PI2 personnel have a long legacy in small-SWaP hardware systems design and development. In Phase I, our team will fully explore the BAARS trade space of multispectral imagers, head trackers, and microdisplays, and develop multiple candidate HMD configurations in terms of optics, mechanical design, and ergonomics, and down-Select to a BAARS configuration. In a potential Phase II of this effort, the PI2 team will develop a BAARS prototype and demonstrate it to the Air Force for future incorporation into the Battlefield Air Operations (BAO) Kit.