A Fusion of Real and Virtual Information for Aiding Aircraft Pilotage in Low Visibility

Low visibility is the single most critical factor affecting both the safety and capacity of worldwide aviation operations. Enhanced Vision System (EVS) and Synthetic Vision System (SVS) are new assistant systems designed with the goal of eliminating poor visibility conditions as a causal factor to civil aircraft accidents and delays. Due to their great potential, both EVS and SVS have been drawing dramatic attention from academia to industry all over the world and they are moving from laboratory to practical application. In China, however, the progress is comparatively slow because of the costly and limited experimental resources. This paper reports on the preliminary work for developing EVS and SVS including the pioneer flight test in China for civil aviation use and its data analysis. A novel concept of merging real and virtual vision together is put forward in this paper.