Mixed reality for unmanned aerial vehicle operations in near Earth environments

To address the lack of motion feedback to a UAV pilot, a system was developed that integrates a motion simulator into UAV operations. The system is designed such that during flight, the angular rate of a UAV is captured by an onboard inertial measurement unit (IMU) and is relayed to a pilot controlling the vehicle from inside the motion simulator. Efforts to further increase pilot SA led to the development of a mixed reality chase view piloting interface. Chase view is similar to a view of being towed behind the aircraft. It combines real world onboard camera images with a virtual representation of the vehicle and the surrounding operating environment.