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Defense Intelligence Reference Document Cockpits In The Era Of Breakthrough Flight

Defense Intelligence Agency · 57 pages · text from the file's own layer

This Defense Intelligence Reference Document from the Defense Intelligence Agency, dated 1 November 2010, is one of a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009 under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications (AAWSA) Program. It proposes a provisional cockpit design for craft driven by speculative breakthrough propulsion, such as control of gravity and inertia and faster-than-light travel. It draws mainly on the book Frontiers of Propulsion Science and on human-machine interface research.

  • p. 2 …a series of advanced technology reports produced in FY 2009 under the Defense Intelligence Agency, l…
  • p. 5 …How these advances may affect future cockpits is described, and this is the central message of…
  • p. 6 …the far future, this study evaluates the impact of having achieved the following breakthrough advancements: • Control…
  • p. 12 …then contemplate the consequences that these advances impose onto other systems of the vehicle-in this…
  • p. 21 …In support of the forgoing discussion, we are speculating that heretofore unknown advances in physics regarding…
  • p. 32 …As evidenced by the gaming industry, the motions of the pilot's hands-whether by a…
  • p. 44 …the sensors and functions are known at this time, and it is expected that further advances…
  • p. 45 …Taking advantage of foreseeable advances, such images are likely to be in the form of virtual…
  • p. 48 …advances in cockpits for breakthrough flight might be further advanced by taking advantage of the gaming…
  • p. 51 …on an advanced version or next generation of heads-up display to outline the road, pinpoint…
  • p. 53 …Regardless of such advances, the keyboard is still likely to be around for those lingering tasks…
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Vehicle Status Panel
Below the vector motion panel is the vehicle status panel that contains the most critical
vehicle status and controls. This is analogous to where fuel levels and engine
temperatures would be displayed. In this central panel, only the most critical and
highest hierarchical status conditions would be displayed in a fixed format.
More detailed, lower-level statuses and controls are on the right side panel and
available through the flight-assist system. The proximity of this panel to the survival
enunciator, the flight-mode panel, and the emergency response panel is deliberate.
Also flanking either side of this vehicle status panel are the cabin controls (on the left)
and the communication controls (on the right).
Cabin Control Panel
The cabin controls are not just for temperature and pressure of the pilot's cabin, but
also for the inertial and gravitational environment inside the cabin. This panel is
deliberately located just below the section of the survival enunciator that displays alarm
states for the cabin, and just adjacent to the vehicle status panel, with the expectation
that related vehicle functions are displayed near the cabin controls.
The novel function of including controls for the internal inertial and gravitational forces
is in keeping with the recommendation of the double-hull configuration from Chapter 1.
If the pilot wishes to feel a portion of the vehicle's acceleration, that can be dialed in. If
the pilot wishes to select a nominal background gravitational field of 0 g or 1 g (or
other options), that can be done, too.
Communication Panel
The communication panel is the primary selection point for communicating with base.
Accordingly, it is located just below the flight-assist system and the emergency
response panel. An alphanumeric key pad serves both the communication panel and the
flight-assist system.
Available settings would likely include selection of communication methods, channels,
and related functions. Further details are dependent upon factors that cannot yet be
predicted.
Pullout Keyboard
For more intensive alphanumeric data entry, and when time allows, a pullout computer
keyboard is available.
External Sensing Panel
One of the two side panels flanking the pilot seat is the external sensing panel. It
includes settings for external sensors, navigation cues, and related functions. It also
includes controls for how the information obtained from the external sensors is
processed, displayed, and recorded.
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Report, from the dia collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. 57 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.