Kotterdam
23-07-2004, 10:33
In a joint press release today, the Dominion of Kotterdam and the United City-States of New Empire have openly acknowledged the existance of Project: Orpheus, a joint effort by Engineering, Research, and Development teams from both nations to design and manufacture what is known as a Direct Brain Imaging Display - A system that would alllow pilots to view tactical information not on Heads-Up, or even Helmet-Mounted displays, but simply floating in the air before them. Based off of the ANTARES system already in use in New Empire, the new DBID, known as TARGETS, or Tactical Altered Reality - Generic Enhanced Targeting System, overlays information directly onto the sensory centers of the brain. Unlike ANTARES, however, TARGETS requires no feedback, and does not require the pilot to maintain a precarious mental state so as to keep his brain waves in synch with the receptors.
TARGETS works by using specially designed transmitters to project information directly onto the sensory centers of the brain, altering and even replacing the pilot's perceptions of the world around him. Initial tests of the TARGETS system began by projecting little green lights, and then simple geometric shapes onto a subject's field of view. Finally, the system was put to work by projecting both the visual and auditory components of the movie "Aliens" onto a test subject's consciousness. Incidentally, the initial test subjects were all individuals who had lost their sight to accidents or illnesses. At this time, the Dominion of Kotterdam is researching the possibility of using TARGETS to restore sight to such people.
In operation, TARGETS is the ultimate situational awareness aid. Pilots are provided with a range of auditory and tactile inputs as well as visual situation displays and even an olfactory cue for when the aircraft has caught fire. In its primary mode, TARGETS gives the pilot access to a full-sphere 720-degree view of his surroundings unobstructed by the airframe of his aircraft. He pans the view by turning his head in the direction he wants his viewpoint to go, and returning his eyes forward always gives him a boresight view along his line of flight. Miniature lasers in the pilot's helmet keep track of the position of his eyeballs, and determine what he is looking at, allowing him to designate targets simply by looking at them. This is intended to allow the use of weapons with high offboresight targeting angles, such as the SERAAM missile, or other similar weapons.
This projection automatically compensates for surrounding light levels, tags every target with the relevant information, and allows the pilot to verify his aircraft's status at a glance. It can give the pilot information including the IFF tags of nearby aircraft, their rate of closure, range, altitude, heading, and a rough estimate on type. As well, tactile and auditory stimuli notify the pilot of aircraft and other threats outside his current field of view - He actually feels them on his skin with the intensity of the sensation giving him a rough idea of the target's proximity. Obviously, such things cannot be exact, but they allow a pilot to have a general idea of the position of things he cannot see.
TARGETS draws information from all an aircraft's systems and sensors to compile both the primary view and a secondary, or God's Eye view of the pilot's surroundings. In this three-dimensional, third person view, the pilot views the battlefield from outside his aircraft, and is fully capable of directing large-scale engagements. Furthermore, in addition to incorporating the input from all aircraft sensors, TARGETS has, as an integral portion of its design, the Pallas Athena Tactical Sensor Countermeasure unit. Using a coldframe superconducting computer designed by the Dominion, the Pallas Athena has always had far more computing power than it ever needed. Rather than design a new control unit for TARGETS, it was learned that it could be run off of the coldframe used in Pallas Athena with power to spare. Only those aircraft equipped with Pallas Athena are capable of operating it.
In a final test, a force composed of modified A/F-21C Peregrine and F-109D Super Tempest fighters equipped with the new TARGETS displays engaged an equal force of identical configuration that relied entirely on conventional displays and controls in a simulated dogfight. In the end, the coordination and increased situational awareness provided by TARGETS allowed the pilots of the modified craft to engage and defeat their targets with only a single "loss" out of ten aircraft. As of that test, TARGETS was declared ready for full scale use in military hardware, approved both for aircraft use, and implementation in Armoured Fighting Vehicles for the armies of both the Dominion and New Empire. Strangely enough, Project: Orpheus remains active as a line item in the military budget of both nations.
TARGETS works by using specially designed transmitters to project information directly onto the sensory centers of the brain, altering and even replacing the pilot's perceptions of the world around him. Initial tests of the TARGETS system began by projecting little green lights, and then simple geometric shapes onto a subject's field of view. Finally, the system was put to work by projecting both the visual and auditory components of the movie "Aliens" onto a test subject's consciousness. Incidentally, the initial test subjects were all individuals who had lost their sight to accidents or illnesses. At this time, the Dominion of Kotterdam is researching the possibility of using TARGETS to restore sight to such people.
In operation, TARGETS is the ultimate situational awareness aid. Pilots are provided with a range of auditory and tactile inputs as well as visual situation displays and even an olfactory cue for when the aircraft has caught fire. In its primary mode, TARGETS gives the pilot access to a full-sphere 720-degree view of his surroundings unobstructed by the airframe of his aircraft. He pans the view by turning his head in the direction he wants his viewpoint to go, and returning his eyes forward always gives him a boresight view along his line of flight. Miniature lasers in the pilot's helmet keep track of the position of his eyeballs, and determine what he is looking at, allowing him to designate targets simply by looking at them. This is intended to allow the use of weapons with high offboresight targeting angles, such as the SERAAM missile, or other similar weapons.
This projection automatically compensates for surrounding light levels, tags every target with the relevant information, and allows the pilot to verify his aircraft's status at a glance. It can give the pilot information including the IFF tags of nearby aircraft, their rate of closure, range, altitude, heading, and a rough estimate on type. As well, tactile and auditory stimuli notify the pilot of aircraft and other threats outside his current field of view - He actually feels them on his skin with the intensity of the sensation giving him a rough idea of the target's proximity. Obviously, such things cannot be exact, but they allow a pilot to have a general idea of the position of things he cannot see.
TARGETS draws information from all an aircraft's systems and sensors to compile both the primary view and a secondary, or God's Eye view of the pilot's surroundings. In this three-dimensional, third person view, the pilot views the battlefield from outside his aircraft, and is fully capable of directing large-scale engagements. Furthermore, in addition to incorporating the input from all aircraft sensors, TARGETS has, as an integral portion of its design, the Pallas Athena Tactical Sensor Countermeasure unit. Using a coldframe superconducting computer designed by the Dominion, the Pallas Athena has always had far more computing power than it ever needed. Rather than design a new control unit for TARGETS, it was learned that it could be run off of the coldframe used in Pallas Athena with power to spare. Only those aircraft equipped with Pallas Athena are capable of operating it.
In a final test, a force composed of modified A/F-21C Peregrine and F-109D Super Tempest fighters equipped with the new TARGETS displays engaged an equal force of identical configuration that relied entirely on conventional displays and controls in a simulated dogfight. In the end, the coordination and increased situational awareness provided by TARGETS allowed the pilots of the modified craft to engage and defeat their targets with only a single "loss" out of ten aircraft. As of that test, TARGETS was declared ready for full scale use in military hardware, approved both for aircraft use, and implementation in Armoured Fighting Vehicles for the armies of both the Dominion and New Empire. Strangely enough, Project: Orpheus remains active as a line item in the military budget of both nations.