laststandonzombieisland

Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD) lead engineer/senior electrical engineer William Hughes III demonstrates the Divers Augmented Vision Display (DVAD) during a lab simulation. U.S. Navy Photo by Richard Manley (RELEASED) 151130-N-PD526-002

The Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division (NSWC PCD), home to some of the coolest people and mini-subs in the world (if you are ever there, check out Carriage House for your interment needs, the Wicked Wheel for a liquid lunch, and The Museum of Man in the Sea for dive gear and submersibles you will find nowhere else), has developed what they call the Divers Augmented Vision Display (DAVD) which is a high-resolution, see-through head-up display (HUD) embedded directly inside of a diving helmet.

The helmet will use augmented reality that can literally show divers exactly what they have before them in a way that could only be done in a Marvel film before.

Lab simulation view of an augmented reality image of an airplane through the Divers Augmented Vision Display (DVAD). Divers Augmented Vision Display (DVAD). U.S. Navy Photo by Richard Manley (RELEASED) 151130-N-PD526-004

From the Navy’s presser

This unique system enables divers to have real-time visual display of everything from sector sonar (real-time topside view of the diver’s location and dive site), text messages, diagrams, photographs and even augmented reality videos. Having real-time operational data enables them to be more effective and safe in their missions — providing expanded situational awareness and increased accuracy in navigating to a target such as a ship, downed aircraft, or other objects of interest.

Instead of having to rely on pre-dive briefings alone to determine what they are looking for, how specific items should appear and where they may be located, the DAVD system places the information right before divers’ eyes with a look and feel comparable to a point-of-view video game display.