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Next-Generation Foggles

By Elan Head | December 21, 2015

Estimated reading time 6 minutes, 1 seconds.

The ICARUS device uses the same technology found in electrochromic windows to enable better, more realistic instrument flight training. Photo courtesy of Nick Sinopoli
Anyone who has ever undergone instrument flight training knows the shortcomings of conventional view-limiting devices. Whether hoods, “foggles,” or pieces of construction paper, such devices can be cumbersome and distracting to put on or remove in the air. For that reason, they also do a poor job of simulating entry into instrument meteorological conditions (IMC). As Purdue University aeronautical engineering graduate Nick Sinopoli put it, “the only thing that’s good about [conventional view-limiting devices] is that they’re cheap.”
Sinopoli believes he has a better solution: ICARUS (for “Instrument Conditions Awareness Recognition and Understanding System”). Designed to look and feel “like a $200 pair of sunglasses, not $2 safety glasses,” the ICARUS device uses polymer dispersed liquid crystal (PDLC) technology to turn from transparent to opaque at the flick of a switch. Not only does that make ICARUS easier to use than traditional view-limiting devices, it also enables more realistic training — which, Sinopoli believes, will ultimately lead to safer pilots.
A native of Austin, Texas, Sinopoli came to appreciate the need for a better view-limiting device during his U.S. Navy helicopter training. The device he wore for his in-flight simulated instrument training was essentially just a piece of construction paper, which was wedged into his helmet to block his view outside the cockpit. It was certainly cheap, but not particularly representative of actual IMC, and could be distracting to remove during the high-workload phase at the end of an instrument approach.
Sinopoli took inspiration for ICARUS from the electrochromic windows in the new Boeing 787, which change transparency with a dial, rather than a plastic shade. In PDLC applications, liquid crystals are dispersed in a solid polymer matrix. With no electric field applied, the randomly dispersed crystals scatter light, making the polymer practically opaque. When an electric field is applied, however, the crystals align, allowing light to pass through with little scattering. 
With the battery-powered ICARUS device, a flight instructor can convincingly simulate entry into IMC by turning a switch to remove the electric field, instantly transforming a student’s clear glasses into foggles. Likewise, at the end of a practice instrument approach, the instructor can simulate breaking out of the clouds or continued IMC without having to call out instructions such as “missed approach.” At present, such realistic training is available only in actual IMC — for which relatively few helicopters are certified — or in flight simulators, which are not always readily available. The ICARUS device can also quickly be turned transparent if instrument training must be aborted to manage an in-flight emergency.
ICARUS creator Nick Sinopoli experienced the limitations of conventional view-limiting devices first-hand during his own helicopter flight training. Photo courtesty of Nick Sinopoli
Sinopoli has been working on the ICARUS project full-time since leaving the Navy in April 2015, and has already placed second at the Defense Entrepreneurs Forum’s 2015 Innovation Competition, in addition to taking part in the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh’s Aeroinnovate 2015 Accelerator class. (He is also scheduled to take part in the Transportation Review Board’s 6 Minute Pitch competition in January.) Sinopoli has partnered with Newovo Plastics and Aeromotive Harnesses of Elgin, Ill., to produce the first ICARUS models, and has now launched a Kickstarter campaign to raise money for further production.
Although Sinopoli has not yet determined a retail price for the ICARUS device, his goal is “to keep it as cheap as possible,” he said. Backers who pledge $300 or more on Kickstarter will receive the actual ICARUS device if the project is funded, and will be invited to take part in beta testing.
Sinopoli will initially be marketing ICARUS to civilian flight schools, but he sees great potential for other applications and refinements. For example, the same technology could be integrated into visors for military and other helicopter pilots who wear helmets during flight training. And, because the transparency of PDLC polymers increases directly with voltage applied, it should be possible to introduce a variable transparency function, which would allow flight instructors to simulate gradually worsening weather conditions. “It doesn’t have to be opaque or clear — it can be in between,” said Sinopoli.
While the ICARUS device is a neat piece of technology, Sinopoli believes it has more than gee-whiz appeal. More realistic instrument flight training means pilots who are better prepared to cope with or avoid inadvertent entry into IMC, which continues to be a deadly problem for the helicopter industry in particular. Many civilian and military safety initiatives related to inadvertent IMC are “focused on making the aircraft better,” Sinopoli said. “I’m trying to solve that same problem with better pilots.”

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