Barco launches collimated display for cockpit training and simulation
KORTRIJK, Belgium, 3 Dec. 2009. Barco launched its Collimated Cross-Cockpit Display system (CD series pilots training in side-by-side cockpit simulators. Barco's CD series offers ultra-high resolution with collimation properties and a contrast level as high as 6,000,000:1.
Cross-cockpit collimated displays are used for side-by-side cockpit avionics training. By collimating the light from projectors using a thin film mirror and back-projection screen, an accurate sense of infinite depth is created.
Barco's projectors come equipped with the necessary optimizations to run in a multi-channel setup, with color and brightness equalization, geometry correction and different types of edge blending. "As such, it was a logical step for us to start designing an entire CCCD," says Paul Lyon, director of product and solutions management of Barco's simulation business, "Over the past decades, we've built up a lot of expertise in designing and installing mechanical structures, as well as the alignment of a display system."
Barco's CD series offer a 220 by 45 degree field of view, a light-weight thin film mirror with a 10 foot radius, and an AFT structure option in addition to liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) technology. "It is a truly integrated system," Lyon says. "Each component has been designed to work with the other flawlessly. In addition, because all system elements are from the same manufacturer, this makes installation and service much easier." Another optimization includes an improved way of controlling the foil mirror's vacuum.
Barco's SIM 7 projectors, which form the heart of the collimated display, were designed from the start for highly realistic, level D-grade simulation tasks. Recent upgrades have made it compatible with stimulated night vision goggle equipment.
