Avionics
Unique flight display concept simplifies the instrument scan
Researchers at the University of West Florida’s Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola are developing a symbol-based, flight-deck display t

Researchers at the University of West Florida’s Institute for Human and Machine Cognition in Pensacola are developing a symbol-based, flight-deck display that is capable of providing an instantaneous presentation of an aircraft’s flight situation to the pilot. Named Oz, the surprisingly intuitive concept is seen as applicable to all fixed- and rotary-wing aircraft, large and small, civil and military.

The Institute’s research team, headed by David Still, a former U.S. Navy commander with two doctorates in vision science–and also a private pilot currently building a Rutan Long-Eze–developed the Oz concept with $1.2 million in grants from NASA and the Navy’s Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory. (The Oz name came from the need, during early experiments, to have a rear projector operator behind a curtain, reminiscent of the 1939 movie.)