ENGINEERING

Christie’s DualView Allows two Operators to Work With Zero Distortion in Tandem, Each Viewing and Responding to Separate Images Simultaneously

 

Christie is poised to introduce one of the industry’s most innovative concepts, the Christie DualView simulator display at I/ITSEC 2012, December 3–6, 2012.  The innovative DualView simulator can separately compute and render the same scene from two unique points of view (POV) with excellent image quality, allowing two operators to respond to their own, separately warped, full-screen image simultaneously. This achieves essentially zero geometric distortion rather than a compromise single DEP ( Design Eye Point) located half way between operators.

 

It accomplishes this by computing completely separate ideal DEP’s for each independent operator working adjacent in the same cockpit, and separating those pilot/copilot views by time, toggling both eyes alternately – very similar to how alternate eye stereo glasses work. As a result, the system offers collaborative training that is closer to real-life scenarios where fast action developments require rapid decisions.  It is ideal for applications that involve two operators or pilots such as two-person tandem jets or helicopters, as well as ground vehicles with driver and a gunner behind him, or any other training scenario where completely separate views and telemetry/HUD augmented-reality feedback is useful with zero geometric distortion. DualView computes eight separate images, for a total of 18.4 MegaPixels, seamlessly blended such that pilot sees four combined images and copilot his own separate four combined images.

 

“The Christie DualView allows configurations like tandem seating, while offering the perfect viewpoint for pilot and copilot – or any two viewing positions – since the images are computed and corrected specifically for their eye points, not a half-way-in-between,” noted Zoran Veselic, vice president of Visual Environments at Christie.  “It’s a concept built upon Christie’s simulation expertise and experience that includes the world’s first dual-input projector, the Christie Matrix StIM LED DLP simulation projector, which renders visible and infrared light simultaneously for Night Vision Goggle training. It reflects our leadership in the industry and commitment to developing a compact, low-cost simulator display without sacrificing on versatility and performance.”

 

Christie partnered with RealTime Immersive (RTI), a simulation and serious games company established to support CryENGINE licensees in the simulation and serious games market. RTI played a key role in the display at I/ITSEC by providing photorealistic quality undersea demo content.

 

According to Veselic, the Christie DualView represents a new opportunity in the simulation markets such as government, civilian, and gaming, where cost constraints can force customers to compromise on quality and system capabilities.  It creates a better sense of teamwork and cooperation than systems in which operators occupy entirely separate simulators. DualView is also much better than splitting screen real estate into two half-resolution images, as is common in gaming,  because now each viewer can see their own full resolution images on the entire screen - no compromise in Field of View or image quality. DualView’s ellipsoidal screen is a highly mobile, deployable, and cost-effective solution.  It is an extremely promising technology with an immense range of applications, from multi-user simulators for training across many industries, to multiplayer gaming.