ISD DELPHINS
DELPHINS is a display software environment that allows
new ideas for display formats and functionality to be implemented through a
combination of re-use and rapid prototyping techniques.
DELPHINS has been used to prototype and evaluate Synthetic Vision and Detect and Avoid displays
The DELPHINS
architecture was designed to enable seamless integration of the resulting
implementation both into existing simulation environments and aircraft. The following 9 screen captures show examples
of display formats running in the DELPHINS environment.
Both 2-D and 3-D instruments can be created using
DELPHINS. Control panels with virtual input devices can be specified to
interact with functions. All the examples use the same DELPHINS core modules.
Depending upon the requirements of a specific applications, either existing
instruments from a library containing over 100 predefined instrument objects
can be selected, or new instruments can be designed. Standard features include
the use of digital terrain elevation data to render terrain. The standard
DELPHINS software can render a series of 2-D Primary Flight Display Formats,
ego- and exocentric perspective synthetic vision display formats, plan-view navigation
display formats and side-view display formats.
DELPHINS SVS Basis
A DELPHINS SVS display environment comprises at a minimum
two modules: MVCTUN and MAIN. MVCTUN is the module that generates the display
format, MAIN controls MVCTUN by providing it with data and commands. A single
MAIN module can control multiple MVCTUN modules, and these modules can be
distributed over multiple computers. Both MVCTUN and MAIN are built upon 3 core
modules: ISDxGL, ISD3DM and D3SINST.
The D3SINST module contains over 100 predefined 2-D
instrument objects that can be combined into a particular display format. The
ISD3DM library contains the functions needed to create, transform and render
both static and dynamic 3-D objects. The ISDxGL
library contains the functions that translate the graphics instructions
generated by the functions in the ISD3DM and D3SINST libraries to the graphics
API of
the target
environment.
For typical display format related research, the basic
DELPHINS software package comprising MVCTUN and MAIN is the appropriate
solution. In case of new visualization concepts that have to be integrated into
existing display formats, ISD can perform the modifications needed to meet
specific requirements in terms of data presentation, simulation functionality
and integration with external data sources. These modification activities are
provided as services.
For stand-alone display applications that require a
different architecture than the one offered by the MVCTUN-MAIN configuration it
is still possible to benefit from the existing functions in the ISD3DM, D3SOBJ
and ISDxGL libraries. If new 2-D instrument objects
are required, ISD can aid in the design using its D3S rapid
prototyping system which enables graphical specification of the representation
and functionality, supported with automatic code generation to create a
dedicated D3SOBJ instrument library.
Examples of DELPHINS deployment
The
following slide shows six examples of simulation systems in which the DELPHINS
MVCTUN and MAIN applications are being used to render one or more of the
displays.
2012-2018: Ohio University Research Flightdeck
2015: Surface guidance research
system (Rockwell Collins Hoofddorp, The Netherlands)
2006 – present: UAS research
system Netherlands Defense Academy, Den Helder
2013: NASA Research Flightdeck for IAN project
2012-present: CSHIELD operator
station – used at the Royal Netherlands Naval College
2005 –
2013: UAS research system
AOCS Nieuw Milligen
