Headset: Wide Eye HMD
Manufacturer: Kaiser Aerospace
Video in: Color LCD, 479 x 234 elements
Field of View: 40V X 60H
Graphics: Custom Optics
Cost: $50,000 (£36,613)
Launch Date: September 1993
Estimated Value: $5-10,000
Other Features: Primarily used as a HUD targeting system in helicopters and fighter jets. Working on a lower-cost commercial version that will be based on the Tektronix colour CRT.
The top image you see shows the original Wide Eye as it was proposed on the First Team’s LHX avionics suite. According to Jim Stahl, the Wide Eye HMD program manager, “Wide Eye HMD is a monocular cathode ray tube-(CRT-)based system designed for high-performance fighter aircraft and provides the pilot with a display and sight system designed for integration into a fighter jet HMD.” While the flat-panel display scan produces an image in pixels, the CRT produces an image in calligraphic display lines.
The main idea with this system was so the pilot can designate and select targets and weapons while monitoring flight parameters at the same time.