UIAA, College of Engineering Presentation Huge Success
The University of Iowa Alumni Association and the College of Engineering's presentation "Synthetic Vision: Aiding Aviation" drew over 100 people to OPL's flight operations hangar Thursday night. The presentation was preceded by a showcase of OPL's technologies.
OPL used this opportunity to display many of its systems to the public, such as the Boeing 737 Simulator and the Computerized Airborne Research Platform (CARP). Demonstrations were also done on the ways OPL tracks operator workload. Eye trackers, which are used to create an eye vector that follows the exact path of the operator’s eye, were demonstrated along with an example of an EEG.
OPL uses the EEG, an array of electrodes that can monitor brain activity, to help determine if an operator is undergoing stress. The EEG was connected to the Instrumented Lexus after the presentation of OPL’s Synthetic Vision System.
The presentation, given by Associate Professor Tom Schnell, introduced the problems in general aviation and why Synthetic Vision Systems are needed. It also highlighted the design process of OPL’s Synthetic Flight Bag ™. The presentation lasted roughly 40 minutes and was followed by a short question and answer session.
Due to the interest of levels of many individuals, the event lasted over an hour past the expected finish time of 7:30 p.m. Many people hung around to view the demonstration of the EEG and chat with OPL staff members about the programs at OPL.
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