Mission Critical

Correct assessment of information is crucial in mission-critical systems and operations. 3D audio enhances the existing visual systems while improving the audio quality of the communication. This dramatically improves the situation awareness and chance of survival of the pilot.

When a hostile radar station locates a fighter plane, and the missile is on its way, the pilot has approximately five seconds to react appropriately. Within these seconds, the pilot must perceive the alarm in the headset, look down on his instrument panel and interpret the content of a symbol giving the missile type, and its direction. But even with intense training the pilots are not able to reach a safe response time. One or two seconds might be enough to save a pilot's life.

This desirable reduction of the response time is precisely what 3D Audio is able to deliver. When the pilot hears the warning signal in his headset: Missile! The attack position is measured by the fighter's computer and transformed and clarified in 3D Audio. In other words, the pilot is able to react immediately on the danger due to the 3D Audio sound positioning of the signal. A so-called head tracker placed on the headset measures the pilot's head movements and keeps the correct position no matter how the pilot turns his head. Seconds are saved and the pilot's chance of survival is improved.

The AM3D audio solutions provide the user with the ability to spatially separate simultaneous audio cues, enabling the user to hear sound sources as coming from outside while locating these sources. The advantage of this is a more natural sound using stereo headsets.

Download PDF on 3D Positional Audio for Mission Critical solutions.