Current KC-135 and KC-10 mid air refueling systems require the boomer (the person controlling the refueling arm) to fly the boom (the arm which attaches to the plane to refuel) down to the nozzle on the receiving aircraft. This is a difficult task and can result in unsafe loads on the boom and possible damage to the receiving aircraft during docking. In this project we developed force feedback, virtual fixtures, and reality registration into a set of mid-air refueling components that can be added to existing mid-air refueling systems or implement refueling training simulations.

Expertise

Human Computer Interaction

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