DOW-UAP-D144, AAWSAP DIRD, Cockpits in the Era of Breakthrough Flight, November 2010

This document is a Defense Intelligence Reference Document (DIRD), a technical reference format used by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to capture baseline knowledge on a specific topic for later analytic use. DIRDs are best understood as reference and synthesis products rather than as original research. It is one of 38 DIRDs produced under the Advanced Aerospace Weapon System Applications Program (AAWSAP) between 2009 and 2011. Because AAWSAP’s scope permitted a broad range of supporting topics, not every DIRD in the series directly concerns aerospace systems or future threat assessment. The following summary reflects the DIRD’s scope and framing at the time of writing and should not be read as implying current validation of the concepts discussed. This DIRD examines how cockpit design might change if future aerospace vehicles were ever to achieve major propulsion breakthroughs such as control over gravity and inertia, “propellantless” flight, or faster-than-light travel. The report does not describe an existing or emerging vehicle class. Instead, it asks what such hypothetical capabilities would mean for piloting, displays, controls, and human factors, and it argues that the biggest design challenges would come from full six-degree-of-freedom motion, operation across multiple flight regimes from near-surface flight to orbit and deep space, and the possible separation between the craft’s actual motion and the crew’s internal physical sensations. It combines those assumptions with established human-machine-interface principles and with maturing inputs such as gesture, voice, and brain-machine control to outline a provisional cockpit centered on intuitive displays, stress-tolerant physical controls, and a virtual surround display.

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Defense
Intelligence
Reference
Document
Defense Futures
01 November 2010
ICOD: 8 July 2010
DIA-08-1011-002
Cockpits in the Era of
Breakthrough Flight
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Cockpits in the Era of Breakthrough Flight
The Defense Intelligence Reference Document provides non-substantive but
authoritative reference information related to intelli ence to ics or methodolo ies.
Prepared by:
Technology Warning Division (DW0-4)
Defense Warning Office
Directorate for Analysis
Defense Intelligence Agency
Author:
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Contents
Introduction ...........................................................................................................iv
Chapter 1: Predicting Implications of Propulsion Breakthroughs ........................... 1
MARCH OF PROGRESS: REVOLUTIONARY PROPULSION PHYSICS....................... 1
VEHICLE and COCKPIT IMPLICATIONS............................................................... 2
Chapter 2: Human-Machine Interface Lessons ..................................................... 18
HUMAN PERCEPTION NORMS ........................................................................... 18
DESIGN FOR STRESS ............................................................................................. 21
DEVICES TO CONVEY INFORMATION ................................................................ 23
DEVICES FOR RECEIVING PILOT COMMANDS ................................................... 27
CONTEMPORARY AIRCRAFT COCKPITS............................................................. 28
Chapter 3: Provisional Cockpit for Breakthrough Flight........................................ 32
FLIGHT MODES................................................................................................. 32
PHYSICAL DISPLAVS ........................................................................................ 34
VIRTUAL SURROUND DISPLAY ......................................................................... 40
CONTROLS ........................................................................................................ 41
Chapter 4: Future Work........................................................................................ 43
MULTIPLE FLIGHT REGI ME GUIDANCE CONVENTIONS ..................................... 43
VECTOR MOTION DISPLAY ............................................................................... 43
VECTOR MOTION CONTROL .............................................................................. 43
OPTIMUM MIX OF CONTROL METHODS ............................................................. 44
Appendix A: Annotated Bibliography .................................................................... 45
Appendix B: Endnotes .......................................................................................... SO
Figures
Figure 1. Six Independent Degrees of Freedom...................................................... 3
Figure 2. Comparing Conventions of Aircraft Motion .............................................. 5
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Figure 3. Necessary Distinction Between External & Internal Force Environments. 6
Figure 4. Warp Drive ...............................................................................................8
Figure 5. Hypothetical Gravitational Bias Drive .......................................................9
Figure 6. Inertial Frame Bias Drive and Vehicle Zones ..........................................10
Figure 7. Typical Science Fiction Orientations .......................................................12
Figure 8. Cosmic Microwaves as Universal Motion Reference Frame .....................15
Figure 9. Human Fields of View .............................................................................20
Figure 10. Flight Deck of Contemporary Aircraft ...................................................29
Figure 11. Contemporary Primary Flight Display ...................................................30
Figure 12. Space Cockpit Visions Circa 1959 ......................................................... 31
Figure 13. Provisional Breakthrough-Era Cockpit ..................................................33
Figure 14. Functional Designation of Physical Cockpit Panels................................ 34
Tables
Table 1: Comparing Reaction Time to Distance Traversed at Various Speeds ....... 13
iii
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Cockpits in the Era of Breakthrough Flight
Introduction
Responding to the request to explore forefront science relevant to future cockpits for
any form of aerospace craft and/or deep-space craft that is propelled by any
unspecified advanced or breakthrough propulsion physics, this report offers a
provisional cockpit design that employs the following:
• Predictions of propulsion physics breakthroughs.
• Lessons of human-machine interface.
• Emerging technology for displays and controls.
This study discusses the implications of breakthrough propulsion, including the mastery
over gravitational and inertial forces and the prospect for faster-than-light spaceflight.
The main reference used to predict these possibilities is the book Frontiers ofPropulsion
Science [Millis & Davis, 2009]. Although the breakthroughs discussed in this book are
not imminent, enough progress has been made to allow for thoughtful speculation
about their characteristics and possible implementations.
How these advances may affect future cockpits is described, and this is the central
message of this study. The most significant differences from legacy cockpits are
identified and then used to set the baseline design requirements.
Additionally, substantial lessons about human-machine interfaces are reviewed and
applied to this notional cockpit. Most of this progress relies on better accommodating
the norms and limitations of human perception-lessons that do not change even when
vehicle characteristics change.
Recent advancements in the use of hand gestures for commands are also included, as
well as advancements in brain-machine interfaces. In this conceptual study of far-future
possibilities, these technologies are assumed to have reached fu ll maturity, with one
exception: in order to focus this study on future cockpits, the options for brain implants
and for transhumanism-where humans are reengineered to adapt to new
requirements-are not considered.
Next-step investigations are suggested to refine the ideas presented herein. A caveat
is that advances in cockpits for breakthrough flight might be further advanced by taking
advantage of the gaming industry techniques or through science fiction speculation.
Note: All projections in this report are based on public domain information.
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Chapter 1: Predicting Implications of Propulsion
Breakthroughs
MARCH OF PROGRESS: REVOLUTIONARY PROPULSION PHYSICS
Breakthroughs in propulsion physics (such as the control over gravitational or inertial
forces, propellant-less space drives, and even faster-than-light travel) are not
imminent; however, enough progress has been made to allow for thoughtful
speculation about their nature and implications. As a preview, the implications to
cockpit design include added degrees of motion, combination of operational regimes
(near ground, orbit, and beyond), greater range of speed (from zero-speed hover to
beyond light speed), and loss of familiar motion cues (pilot's inertia and visual cues)
resulting from the separation of external and internal environments.
The primary reference used to predict these possibilities is the book Frontiers of
Propulsion Science [Millis & Davis, 2009],1 particularly chapters 3, 4, and 15. This book
may be the first-ever scholarly compilation of science pertaining to breakthrough
flight-methods sufficiently advanced to enable human voyages to other star systems.
The book examines a wide range of works, offering introductory explanations and
comparisons between approaches and identifying high-priority unknowns needing
deeper study. References to specific ideas and issues cite that book and other original
works.
Setting Ideal Performance as Design Target
This report focuses on the most significant likely differences between contemporary
cockpits and cockpits in the era of breakthrough flight. Possibilities that imply the most
demanding changes are considered first, and explanations of the correlations between
the propulsion characteristics and resulting cockpit features are provided. Looking to
the far future, this study evaluates the impact of having achieved the following
breakthrough advancements:
• Control over gravitational and inertial forces:
- The craft is propelled by interacting with the properties of the space-time and/ or
inertial frames surrounding the craft- and can accelerate at g levels beyond
human endurance.
- The environment inside a craft can be sustained anywhere between 0 g and 1 g
(minimum range) without regard for either the motion of the craft or its outside
gravitational environment.
• Faster-than -light (FTL) speeds are possible by having mastered control over those
aspects of nature that impose the light-speed limit. However, due to reasonable
relativistic projections of the energy required for propulsion coupled with the limits
of the human lifespan, it is reasonable to expect that travels will be limited to within
our galaxy. For the sake of bracketing the scope of coverage, this study assumes
that practical star flight will be limited to a 100-light-year radius around our Sun.
Even with this constraint, thousands of star systems are within that range.
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• The energy supply for these features resides on the vehicle and is considered to
have a dynamic interplay with the motion of the vehicle. The energy can be
transferred to and from the environment surrounding the craft as a consequence of
the propulsive maneuvers.
Sanity Check on Predictions
Objectively, the propulsion physics predictions offered in this report should be
interpreted as informed conjectures or, at best, well-reasoned speculations. Absent of
verified theories and engineering implementations, it is premature to consider this first
study as the last word on this topic. Further progress will likely reduce the span of
options and provide greater insight into implementation details.
It must also be stressed that these interpretive predictions and cockpit implications are
solely generated by the author and, thus, have not yet been published or debated with
other scientists and engineers. Therefore, the reader should consider these predictions
to be an initial step into the process.
VEHICLE AND COCKPIT IMPLICATIONS
~deally, it is desirable to have a vehicle that can move in any direction, at any speed, in
both air and space, without limitations. These features imply the need to have
technological mastery over the forces of gravity and inertia and mastery over those
aspects of nature that impose the light-speed limit. Based on projections of the
underlying physics, such abilities would have secondary characteristics that affect how
such motions are monitored and controlled.
Degrees of Freedom
Unlike an aircraft, whose motion consists basically of deviations from constant forward
motion, or a helicopter, whose motion is dominated by the dynamics of its main rotors,
a breakthrough propulsion vehicle would allow the full six degrees of freedom, including
the ability to remain fixed relative to a desired reference. For example, if we start with
the situation of a vehicle hovering over the ground, the breakthrough vehicle should be
able to change its orientation (yaw, pitch, or roll) without affecting its altitude or lateral
position. Similarly, it should be able move up/down or laterally without the need to
induce pitch or roll maneuvers (Figure 1).
Such novel motion leads to two major differences from legacy cockpits:
• Independent control inputs are needed for the full six degrees of freedom (yaw,
pitch, and roll; and laterally, x [fore-aft], y [left-rig ht], and z [up-down]).
• New display methods are required to convey position, orientation, and motion for all
those degrees of freedom.
The control methods need not copy legacy methods from airplanes or helicopters­
methods that are based on the mechanisms of their origin (Figure 2). Instead, future
cockpit designs are now free to use control methods tailored to the natural
action/reaction of pilots, while the vehicle's interfaces perform the function of
converting pilot inputs to drive the vehicle's motion. Whether such a system consists of
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a single joystick with six degrees of freedom, some sort of gesture-based system, or
one that has those degrees of freedom dispersed across multiple pilot inputs (e.g ., head
motion, legs and feet, and arms and hands) remains open for future study. As a
provisional baseline, this report chooses the option of having a pair of six-degree-of­
freedom joysticks, one for both the left and right hands and located at the edge of the
cockpit chair's arm rests.
Three equally avallable rectilinear axes of motion Three equally available rotational axes of motion
Figure 1, Six Independent Degrees of Freedom. [Graphic: A. Szames] Note : the vehicle shown is strictly
hypothetical and is a combination of three 1960s science fiction vehicles: Seaview submarine, Galileo shuttle, and
Amtronic car.
Similar to requiring new control methods, new display methods are also required to
convey more information than in legacy cockpits. In addition to the complete six
degrees of freedom, these motions will take place near the Earth's surface, in orbit, and
in deep space. A key difference spanning those regimes is the traditional role played by
a gravitational field as a reference for orientation and motion. Since a gravitational
reference will not always be present, and yet is extremely important when it is present,
the new display system must accommodate all regimes in a way that feels natural to
the pilots. These particular