homepage Forums Technology Flight Sim Pit Builders Simulation HUD

Today I have received a phone call telling me that finally the SimMeters simulation HUD was ready for production.

This HUD, unlike the real ones, is specially designed for the flight simmer fromthe begining and can be focused from monitor distance up to infinite. I is then ideal for those virtual pilots that use a projection screen at distances of about 2 meters (6 ft), but can also be perfectly adapted to those visual setups that use a TFT screen from 19" and up, placed at 50-75 cm (2.5 ft).

I had the chance to test it and it works even finer than some real HUDs, with no double images, high contrast and sharp images. The installed reflective glass is actually lighter than the one shown on the pictures, so no noticiable change in colors or darkening of the screen is perceived.

The HUD itself can be customized on its screen color (green or yellow), optical system (one or two glasses), focus distance, particular model (F-16, A-10, Su-27, Ka-50, etc.), programable functions (ICP or similar), and other variables. In the pics it is shown the basic Russian model.

The feeling of flying with a HUD really increases the depth perception and the enjoyment of the virtual flight experience. If the HUD is combined with a TIR (or similar) visual management system, the feeling of being "there" is even greater.

Well, just saying that I am really thrilled to see that a device like this has been finally released.

Please notice that I am not part of the manufacturing process, so all technical questions should be addessed directly to SimMeters and not me. Check:

http://www.simmeters.com/hudsys.html





An here a video showing its capabilities (please notice that simbology is only a beta).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D90eKMOjYlo

Please notice that no double images, contrast and sharpness of the image.

AWESOME!

Only I presume the sim would have to be designed to export HUD data?

Very cool now if sims would work in a capacity to allow pit builders to build full enclosure pits this would really be cool. Not sure Black Shark is supposed to allow this but it would be nice. Its not fun to build a detailed pit only to see the graphical equivalent on screen. With the right software this could really be interesting but its up to the upcoming games it seems.

The HUD is designed with UDP data export as a neccesary feature of the simulation used.

Old sims can export data to the HUD, but at some limited basis. Some of the data can be calculated by the very software of the HUD, but other data needs to be obtained from the simulation.

All new generation sims, such as Black Shark series, will export lots of data to feed the HUD and other external devices. As you can see this HUD resembles a Russian model, precisely to fit those new generation sims, although the external shape of the HUD can be done to mimic that of an F-16, A-10, F-18, F-15, etc., as long as some concept dimensions are respected.

Nevertheless the HUD can work with sims such as iL-2 series, LOMAC series, Falcon series, Flight Simulator series, X-plane, and any other that exports data. In the worst sim-interface scenario, the HUD is still able to present basic flight data (att, vel, alt, hdg, wpt, Gs, alpha, etc) extracted from the sim, as well as some auto-generated data. Some of this late options is for example target pointing via data-link. For instance you can aim to a target and mark its position on the HUD, then this data can be sent to a squad mate and then some coordination tactics performed. All this is a exclusive capability of the HUD, not the sim.

Impressive. Most impressive....[Vader voice emulator off].

The G readout on the HUD read constant 0.00 in that video. Not a criticism, just pointing...

I hope to build a pit one day..all the tools seem to be there now. Remember only dreaming about this stuff when F4 was released? This kind of stuff and the 90 degree curved display (Alienware) will take immersion to a new level.

Is the view precise enough to do CCIP bombing or carrier landings (using the flightpath marker)? On the video, the FPM seemed to go up very fast but maybe it's just LOMACs flight model, I don't know.

The software for the video was just a provisional test for autogenerated data code and it is not definitive. The video just pretends to show the quality of the image projected on the simulation visuals. Please notice the absence ob double images, reflections, and that kind of stuff, but ignore the VV and other data in its quality and quantity. I will talk this to SimMeters and ask from them another video.

On the other hand, as I already said, we can expect some compromises with simulations that have limited UDP data export, that in some cases can be solved with the HUD own buit-in calculations.

SimMeters had started contacts with Mr. Mag Wagner in order to cooperate somehow in the natura/quality of UDP data that would be needed for this ond other future projects. I have no doubt that new generation sims will have acces to such amounts of data that would make any pit-builder's nightmare (or sweet dream). This HUD and other new SimMeters projects are designed with those new generation sims in mind.

The answer is a big YES.

The HUD needs two kinds of calibration before it can be used in its full potential:

1) FOCUSING: For home simming we use visual systems that normaly are placed from 50 cm up to 2-3 m (2-10 ft). This HUD had a sliding mechanical system that permits focusing to that very exact distance, so the eyes of the virtual pilot can be fixed on the same point for both visuals, background and data. The user should perform this focusing task prior to using the HUD for flying, or eye strain would become evident after just a few minutes of really inconfortable operation. Once focused, the HUD data appears "floating" over the background visual, but still sharp and readable. This is the main difference with real HUD systems, where focusing distance is set to infinite (where the pilot is focusing most of the time) and eye accomodation from the instrument panel to HUD takes an effort on his/her part. For flight simming we won't be able to use a real HUD because we have our eyes focused to a much shorter distance that varies on different setups for different pilots. On the other hand, once we have obtained a good focus point, eye accomodation from "external" view to instrumets is much easier than in real life, as distance difference is minimal.

2) POSITIONING AND SIZING: After focusing, the HUD needs to be calibrated for the particular visual enviroment it will be used for. The position and size of the HUD symbology can be adjusted simply by dragging with the mouse and by rotating the mouse wheel. The first tuning action should be to make the visual's horizon and the HUD's horizon coincide over a same line. Then, size of the HUD symbology needs to be adjusted acording to the distance to the visual's screen.

Once calibrated I can confirm that CCIP bombing, straffing, air-air gunnery, visual approaches, etc. can be performed perfectly, but as an added bonus you have a 3D deepth perception that changes completely the virtual flight experience.

Outstanding...I did see one small problem though which may be related to the export data itself and not the HUD.

The FPI didn't seem to be accurate or was oversensative. Again, it may be a software problem and not a hardware issue.

Have you been able to confirm the accuracy of the FPI in the sim?

DK

the only problem i see is its price .......... 860 Euros ????

no thanks.....i will pass

Accuracy and data are only dependant of the sim used, not the hardware.

For instance X-plane permits to export easily an incredible amount of data. So does the Black Shark project.

On the other hand, the 10 year old Falcon is somehow limited and is not precisely easy to work with.

Other sims like iL-2 or LOMAC fall in between those two extremes.

Again, the HUD needs calibration before being used. Once calibrated it is very accurate, same as a normally rendered image on the sim visuals screen could be. Straffing passes are point-blank. The difference is that with the HUD a 3D deepth perception is very evident, as is what could be described as some paralax "floating" sensation when the virtual-pilot head moves, same as with the real thing.