Ft. Rucker Aviation Testbed Adopts MetaVR Digital Moving Map For Situational Awareness Displays

MetaVR's Digital Moving Map Software Developers Kit (SDK) is the basis for the fielded Apache Longbow Multi Purpose Display (MPD) at the Ft. Rucker Aviation Testbed. MPD's generate multiple user selectable status pages on a digital display that provides situational awareness information for the pilot. The Longbow MPD uses the MetaVR Digital Moving Map Toolkit to provide the various digital moving map display pages.

These real-time digital moving maps can display either chart maps based on NGA ADRG, or DTED-based moon-shaded terrain maps. The Longbow MPD also contains a simulation of the ITT Industries Suite of Integrated Countermeasures (SIRFC) which displays threat information as 2D overlays on the digital maps. The SIRFC page displays real-time intervisibility plots to enable the aircrew to avoid regions of the terrain, which expose them to ground-based threats based on the aircraft's current above-ground altitude. The MetaVR Map Toolkit generates, updates, and displays these plots above either a moon-shaded or chart map background at interactive frame rates. The intervisibility plots are generated and maintained in real-time using 100 meter resolution elevation data. A demonstration of the Digital Moving Map is available upon request.