OTTAWA, ON – (August 24, 2010) – Christie®, a leader in simulation projection display and visualization solutions announces that Carleton University’s Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab) is using a custom-built structure and display that was designed, engineered and installed by Christie.  Located in the Centre for Advanced Studies, Visualization, Simulation and Modelling (VSIM), the ACE Lab is using the Christie projection simulation display system to accommodate various simulators that are the test bed for human perception studies. The ACE Lab has a two-fold mission; A) To determine the fundamental principles of human perception and cognition and B) To apply these principles to the design, implementation and evaluation of large scale training simulators for fixed wing aircraft, helicopters and motor vehicles.

The training simulators employed for the study are a generic rotary-wing test bed, a Cessna fixed wing simulator, a fighter simulator configured to represent a CF18 and a Saturn driving simulator; all of which are being used to test for fidelity in simulation and how it affects sound, motion, psycho-motor skills and visual perception in participants.

VSIM selected eight Christie Matrix HD4 3-chip DLP® projectors as the visual solution for ACE Lab’s research. Arranged in a 2x4 configuration, each Christie Matrix projector offers a full 1920x1080 HD resolution, creating a single, seamless image of approximately 9-million pixels using Christie Twist™ and Christie MotoBlend™ image warping and optical blending solutions.  The Christie team took a unique approach and constructed curved pipes that hold the two tiers of projectors and aim them towards a screen.

The unique design of the Christie structure accommodates the various sizes of the simulator cockpits and cabins.  With a footprint measurement of 20’8” (wide) x 16’4” (deep) x 15’5” (high), the structure allows ACE Lab researchers to roll simulator cockpits and cabins up to the screen to achieve the correct design eye point of a pilot or driver.  Additionally, a self-supporting, spherical curved screen – measuring 20’ (diameter) x 7’ 10” (viewable height) – is housed within the structure and affords a 47-degree vertical field of view (FOV) and a 180-degree horizontal field of view.  The FOV meets the technical requirement for the design eye point needed in jet fighter cockpits such as the F-18.
 
With the visual display limitations significantly reduced, the VSIM’s ACE Lab can focus on its research objectives.  “We can minimize considerations related to the display and focus on the content; the terrain database,” says Murray Gamble, senior simulation architect for VSIM’s ACE Lab.  “The Christie designed, engineered and installed simulation projection display system is not the research variable under consideration; it is the benchmark.”

“Historically, there have been many assumptions about what’s required for visual simulation,” explains Gamble. “That may include field of view and the content of scenes – and the costs of these training simulators are all based on the “requirements”.  But most of these requirements are driven heavily by anecdotal and subjective information. With the complete Christie solution, we will be able to accurately and objectively define what’s needed to properly train individuals in simulator-based settings.”

“Christie is proud to provide a custom-built solution for Carleton University’s Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab),” says Zoran Veselic, vice-president of Visual Environments at Christie.  “The research conducted by the ACE Lab will help produce the sophisticated training simulators of tomorrow.”
 
About Carleton University’s Advanced Cognitive Engineering Laboratory (ACE Lab)
The mission of the VSIM ACE Lab is to discover fundamental principles of human perception and cognition and to apply these principles to the design, implementation and evaluation of advanced human-machine systems.  Montreal-based CAE (formerly Canadian Aviation Electronics) is a major partner and sponsor of research at Carleton University’s VSIM and ACE Lab.  Many of the human perception studies performed by VSIM and the ACE Lab are performed in collaboration with CAE.