DERA helps flight safety with 'artificial eye'

DERA has successfully commissioned an artificial eye to take human variability out of the assessment of optical systems. The OpTeF or Optical Test Facility provides a means to compare objectively the performance of a whole range of optical systems including binoculars, video and still cameras and most imaging and display systems.

OpTeF was supplied by Sira Electro-Optics to a DERA specification. It is now being used to establish the performance of helmet-mounted displays and night vision goggles and to determine which characteristics will satisfy the pilots' future needs.

Pilot error is one of the major causes of aircraft accidents and fatigue can be a significant contributory factor. Even very small differences between the visual performance of the optics to each eye can result in increased fatigue. The OpTeF can measure these differences and offer a quantitative comparison between different systems.

As DERA Systems Integration Department Facilities Manager Colin Ward explained: "Our main aim is to design a completely safe display system. Coupled with our expertise in optical design and the performance of lenses, we are able to offer a complete range of services from results analysis to advice and a suggested improvements programme. "

The OpTeF 'eye' can be placed in the precise position the human pupil might sit. Rather than a retina and optic nerve, the system uses a camera connected to a processing unit to record the actual image.

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