SBIR-STTR Award

Distant and high-velocity targets require a visual system that can assist the end-user in identifying threats and making fast decisions. Such systems may include reticles for tracking and aiming, and next generation reticles should have the ability to change form or shape to provide situational awareness to operators. Holographic reticles are better suited for this task than the typically-used technology (LED, LCD, OLED) because visual cues can be accurately recreated to reduce effects like parallax. Reticles created by holograms are autostereoscopic and require no accessory optics or aids to view. Furthermore, a holographic reticle system can be made more compact, because the demands on the collimation and projection optics are reduced. In the proposed optical configuration, the reference beam will be modulated instead of calculating hologram fringes for image reconstruction, which greatly reduces complexity of the system and computation time for the reticle frame rate. In this Phase I, the objective is to determine the feasibility of an updateable holographic reticle that can be compact and made with COTS components.

Aircraft head-up displays (HUDs) have historically used monochromatic symbology to relay critical information to the pilot. The main reasons for using a single color are the favorable spectral overlap of green wavelengths with the peak of human luminance sensitivity, and the difficulty of achieving performance requirements at two widely separated wavelengths. However, using at least one additional color could greatly enhance pilot situational awareness and effectiveness by color coding information or creating multi-functional symbology. Using a holographic combiner coupled with a spatial light modulator, it is possible to create a dual-color HUD with exceptional advantages such as low tint, higher resolution, reduced parallax, and increased brightness efficiency. In this Phase II effort, we propose a holographic, dual-color HUD that meets the optical requirements of currently fielded HUD systems. The main advantage of such a system is allowing more information to be acquired faster without obscuring the pilot field of view, which leads to efficient decisions and reduced cognitive load on the end-user.