Advanced JPEG2000 recording deployed for helicopter mission simulators

July 15, 2009
ALAMEDA, Calif., 15 July 2009. Officials at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, selected RGB Spectrum's DGy digital recording system record the intricate symbology used in the simulated Integrated Helmet and Display Sight System (IHADSS) unit United Kingdom's army's Aviation Command and Tactics Trainer (ACTT) for helicopters.

ALAMEDA, Calif., 15 July 2009. Officials at Rockwell Collins in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, selected RGB Spectrum's DGy digital recording system record the intricate symbology used in the simulated Integrated Helmet and Display Sight System (IHADSS) unit United Kingdom's army's Aviation Command and Tactics Trainer (ACTT) for helicopters.

The Rockwell Collins EPX-50 image generator is at the core of the flight simulator, producing a myriad of complex, sophisticated visuals for the out-the-window scene and for the sensors feeding the integrated helmet and sighting systems. The DGy codecs perform synchronized recordings at up to 1600 x 1200 pixel resolution of the navigational, avionics, target acquisition, and weapons control simulated imagery. Instructors replay the exercises with the aircrews in post-simulation classroom debriefings, where they can take full advantage of the DGy's playback capabilities: event marking, instant random access, variable speed fast forward and fast reverse playback, and frame-by-frame jog/shuttle.

The DGy system was chosen for its superior ability to reproduce intricate detail, achieved through advanced wavelet-based JPEG2000 near lossless compression, RGB Spectrum officials say

Other DGy installations include the F-35 Lightning III Joint Strike Fighter simulator program, the U.S. Army Future Combat Systems program, the U.S. Army Space and Strategic Defense Command, the U.S. Army Operational Test Command, and deployments on the U.S. Navy destroyer fleet, the Canada Navy frigate fleet, and the U.S. Missile Defense Agency.

Rockwell Collins is the prime contractor for the sixth phase upgrade of this simulator. The upgrade was designed to provide advanced command and tactical training capability for the Army's helicopter pilots for operation in high threat environments.

The ACTT is a tactics simulator that provides training, mission planning, and mission rehearsal against a dynamic enemy in a virtual environment. Using real-world, high-fidelity databases created by Rockwell Collins, the ACTT allows students to experience simulated maneuvers and battles while instructors evaluate their performance. The system features an instructor station networked together with up to twelve student stations.

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