Army eyes glasses-free 3D display technology for future combat vehicles and unmanned vehicle control stations
WARREN, Mich., 30 March 2012. U.S. Army vetronics researchers are canvassing industry to see which companies might be able to provide glasses-free 3D display technology, or autostereoscopic displays, and to determine if the time is right for a formal solicitation to acquire glasses-free 3D display technology for future armored combat vehicles or unmanned vehicle control stations.
The Ground Vehicle Robotics branch of the Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC) in Warren, Mich., on Wednesday issued a request for information (RFI: W56HZVRFI3D) as part of a market survey to assess the potential to obtain an autonomously adjustable autostereoscopic display system and test it on an Army vehicle.
The market survey is part of a potential TARDEC 3D Display Without Glasses and Head Tracking program. Autostereoscopy refers to displaying stereoscopic images without the aid of special headgear or glasses -- typically by using eye-tracking and multiple views so that the display does not need to sense where the viewer's eyes are located.
TARDEC officials are asking industry for detailed breakdown of the cost, schedule, and logistics necessary to develop and mature an autonomously adjustable autostereoscopic display system for manned and unmanned vetronics systems.
TARDEC researchers particularly are interested in glasses-free 3D display technologies that autonomously can vary the location of the viewer's eyes based on the viewer's head position as he moves.
The system should be able to track the user's lateral head position automatically relative to the display, and the viewable area of the display should be at least 17 inches. The daylight readability of the display should be 300 to 1,000 nits.
Companies interested in participating in the market survey should send system descriptions, system costs, and development plans no later than 30 April 2012. TARDEC officials caution that this is not a formal solicitation, and no contract awards will result directly from this request for information.
Place responses containing unclassified or secret information on a DVD and send it via registered mail. The outer package label should read: US Army RDECOM/TARDEC, 6501 E. Eleven Mile Road, MS 263, ATTN: Security Office, Warren, MI 48397-5000, and the inner label should read: US Army RDECOM/TARDEC, 6501 E. Eleven Mile Road, MS 263, ATTN: Lisa Lynch/RAP Team, Warren, MI 48397-5000.
For questions or concerns, phone TARDEC's Jon Neill at 586-282-9595, or e-mail TARDEC's Lisa Lynch at [email protected]. More information is online at https://www.fbo.gov/notices/9bb1c6c88d5e223160bb9175da3569cd.
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John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
