The Effects of Head Orientation on Head/Helmet Vibration Response

Abstract

Involuntary head/helmet motion due to vibration can compromise the effective use of helmet-mounted cueing systems. Extreme off-axis head/helmet orientations are also expected during tactical maneuvers where aircraft vibration occurs. The effects of head/helmet orientation on head/helmet low frequency vibration response were investigated. Subjects were exposed to an experimental F-15 vibration signal and to sinusoidal frequencies in the range of 3 to 10 Hz. Head and helmet rms accelerations, power spectral densities, and transmissibilities were evaluated. The results showed that head/helmet orientation had minimal effect on the frequency location of the peak responses, which primarily occurred between 4 and 7 Hz for both types of exposures. However, significant increases in the peak helmet pitch responses were observed for head/helmet orientations not aligned with the vertical input axis at the seat. For these off-axis orientations, both exposures showed responses, which tended to be higher at most frequencies below 10 Hz. These head/helmet response characteristics can provide important criteria for developing hardware damping mechanisms and/or software algorithms, which minimize the effects of head/helmet motions on tracking performance and cueing system stability.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 01, 2001
Accession Number
ADA395112

Entities

People

  • Suzanne D. Smith

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Air Platforms
  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Human Systems

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Air Force
  • Air Force Research Laboratories
  • Aircrafts
  • Algorithms
  • Automatic Frequency Control
  • Body Regions
  • Buffeting
  • Coordinate Systems
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Bands
  • Frequency Response
  • Governments
  • Maneuvers
  • Measurement
  • Military Personnel
  • Military Research
  • Vibration

Readers

  • Brain and Cognitive Science; Experimental Psychology; Cognitive Neuroscience
  • Human-Computer Interaction (HCI).
  • Structural Dynamics.