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The Q-Sight™ helmet display
weighs less than 300 grams
In the past this has often involved installing bulky and complex projectors and lenses within cockpits, but technology developed by BAE Systems gives aviators this key capability through a tiny device that clips on to their helmet.
The Q-Sight™ helmet display weighs less than 300 grams, yet delivers the full 'head-up, eyes-out' capability needed to deliver mission-critical situational awareness. It uses revolutionary, patented technology to move light using holographic waveguides, and simply clips on to any standard helmet. Unlike traditional electro-optic systems that can introduce distortions, losses and have severe weight penalties, Q-Sight offers superior results by using a credit-card sized combiner lens that eliminates the need for more complex structures.
Q-Sight technology features a larger 'exit pupil' for pilot viewing, and seamlessly transitions between day and night operations to increase situational awareness and mission capability. The increased visibility and lightweight design minimise eye and neck strain, which are common problems for aviators managing the demands of longer missions and increasingly complex rules of engagement. Additionally, the smaller size and weight of the display allow the aviator complete freedom of movement within the cockpit.
The system's modular design allows for the low-cost addition of new mission-specific capabilities as required. It also makes Q-Sight easy to retrofit and/or upgrade, as well as compatible with other helmet display technologies. Q-Sight technology can be configured with a number of options, depending on user needs.
The waveguide technology also has strong civilian and commercial applications, and BAE Systems has developed the related Q-HUD™ head-up display system for use by pilots of civil and commercial aircraft, from business jets to the largest freight and passenger airliners.
BAE Systems has a long heritage of firsts in the world of airborne displays - the first head-up display, introduced in 1960; the first primary flight reference display, in the 1980s; and the first holographic head-up display, providing wide-field-of-view displays, also in the 1980s. More recently, BAE Systems has developed the world's first binocular helmet-mounted display for a fixed-wing aircraft, the Eurofighter Typhoon.
