Augmented reality (AR) has already been used in everything from gaming to retail and tourism.
But the technology has been given its most important role yet, in the new Striker II fighter pilot helmet.
The 4.4lbs (2kg) device has been developed by British defence firm BAE Systems, and presents ‘mission-critical’ data in front of a pilot’s eyes, giving them ‘unparalleled situational awareness’ as they patrol the air.
From hundreds of miles away, it can discern between another RAF fighter pilot and a hostile enemy aircraft – such as a Chinese spy drone.
In a real life defence setting, the technology could help fighter pilots shoot down such a threat, helping to protect British skies.
The RAF has paid £40 million to fit its personnel with the Striker II helmet, of which fewer than 100 currently exist.
BAE Systems calls it ‘the world’s most advanced helmet-mounted display’ that ‘immediately calculates the pilot’s exact head position and angle’.
At BAE Systems’ offices in Rochester, Kent, MailOnline’s Jonathan Chadwick was given exclusive access to try Striker II during a simulated flight from RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales.
Augmented reality (AR) has already been used in everything from gaming to retail and tourism. But the technology has been given its most important role yet in the new Striker II fighter pilot helmet
At BAE Systems’ offices in Rochester, Kent, MailOnline’s Jonathan Chadwick was given exclusive access to try Striker II during a simulated flight from RAF Valley in Anglesey, Wales
Nigel Kidd, director of head mounted displays at BAE Systems, worked on the original Striker helmet, developed in the late 1990s.
This new iteration presents ‘more information in a crisper format’ including coloured symbols – beyond the typical monochrome green – and integrated night vision, all in a 40-degree field of view.
‘First and foremost, Striker II is a helmet – it keeps pilots safe,’ Kidd told me as I step into the flight simulator, modelled on a cockpit of a Typhoon aircraft.
‘But it’s not just a helmet – it’s a very high performance augmented reality display system.’
While Kidd wouldn’t reveal the exact price of manufacturing Striker II, he admitted each individual helmet ‘has a high price’.
‘The average person would probably buy a small home for what this would cost,’ he told MailOnline.
Striker II, which is tethered to the inside of the cockpit, is made of carbon fibre and weighs around 4.4lbs (2kg), so it feels quite heavy as I place it over my head.
I can’t imagine wearing it for several hours, especially during a high speed flights – although I’m informed it’s light compared to other fighter helmets.
A simulator shows the Typhoon aircraft stationed at RAF Valley prior to take-off. This system is used for pilot training
BAE Systems was awarded £40 million to develop Striker II for RAF pilots – although the firm wouldn’t reveal the cost of each individual helmet. There are currently fewer than 100 in existence
Pictured is the view while wearing the helmet, with speed displayed on the left and altitude on the right. Note the coloured shapes, which denote objects in the air and on the ground
Using optical sensors embedded in the aircraft, Striker II immediately calculates the position and angle of the pilot’s head.
This means no matter where the pilot is looking – left, right, up or down – the display is always presented right in front of their eyes.
I pull the visor down and see a collection of green lines, numbers and symbols, including a target crosshair in the centre and long horizon line through the middle.
As I take off from RAF Valley, a stack of changing numbers on the left shows my speed, while another stack on the right shows altitude.
But apart from the green markings, there’s also a load of shapes in a variety of additional colours – red, blue and yellow.
These shapes indicate relevant objects in the air and on the ground, which are constantly being detected by a vast network of devices, including drones and radar towers, with signals fed back to my aircraft.
On the display, different colours correspond to the nature of the object – so threats are presented in red, while ‘friendlies’ are blue and unknowns are yellow.
Amazingly, when I move my head and focus on one of these coloured shapes, a small pop-up video clip appears, showing more about what the object actually is.
Striker II comes embedded with digital night vision (pictured), meaning pilots no longer need to strap night vision goggles in front of the helmet when flying in the small hours
Using optical sensors embedded in the aircraft, Striker II immediately calculates the pilot’s exact head position and angle
For example, I see a short clip that plays on a loop of ‘friendly’ trucks moving along the ground – a clip which in real life would’ve likely been filmed by a nearby drone.
What’s amazing is the AR display is being projected onto the visor and then reflected into my eyeballs.
If I were to stick my smartphone in between my face and the visor, all my camera app would show would be a blank visor – because the reflection is going into my eyes, not my phone’s camera lens!
It’s probably as close as the RAF will ever get to fitting their pilots with eye implants.
Striker II also comes embedded with digital night vision, meaning pilots no longer need to strap night vision goggles in front of the helmet as they did with Striker I.
This was an experience Kidd describes as like a ‘sack of potatoes hanging off the front of your head’ – making neck ache a real possibility.
I had expected Striker II’s AR display to be a distracting rather than helpful, by presenting the pilot with a barrage of information that could divert attention from the flight path.
Striker II supports picture-in-picture technology that displays imagery in a small offset window separate from that of the main display
Inside the simulator cockpit, the pilot is presented with additional metrics including a map of the flight path
RAF pilots will be wearing Striker II while operating Typhoon (pictured), the aircraft manufactured by German firm Eurofighter
But in actual fact, Striker II shows a pilot only the most important metrics that they’ll need to operate the plane.
This is augmented reality in its purest form – helpful yet subtle and unobtrusive.
Overall, a main benefit of this technology is it means pilots are spending more time with their head up and looking out of the cockpit, not down at the controls.
This gives them ‘a vital advantage’ when it comes to split-second decision-making, according to BAE Systems.
Last year, the firm was awarded £40 million to develop Striker II for RAF pilots who operate Typhoon, the aircraft manufactured by German firm Eurofighter.
Striker II is still undergoing flight trials with the RAF before it will be used by frontline Typhoon pilots.
Kidd told me the helmet is also being made available to other Typhoon users in Europe – namely Spain, Italy and Germany – but he admitted ‘there is interest from other nations’.
The Eurofighter Typhoon frontline fleet delivers air security over the UK and its allies 24/7, 365 days a year.
