Pilots can actually see through the body of the aircraft as they fly. International technology company Elbit Systems this week unveiled a helicopter vision suite for military helicopters that uses a combination of augmented reality (AR), machine learning, and artificial intelligence to provide pilots better visibility while in degraded visibility conditions. The system is powerful, according to the company, that pilots can actually see through the aircraft as they fly. The platform is built around three primary components: an AR head-mounted display (HMD), an AI-powered mission computer, and an array of sensor systems, including the Xplore radar and BrightNite multispectral payload, which includes day and Infra-Red cameras for thermal vision. These sensors are mounted to the nose of the plane and are used to generate a virtual map of the local terrain, including any obstacles such as powerlines or antennas.

A novel idea from an Army helicopter pilot could change the way pilots across the military and civil aviation advance their flying skills. It could even help commanders better select pilots for specific missions by integrating artificial intelligence into the cockpit. U.S. Army 1st Lt. Mahdi Al-Husseini, a helicopter pilot with the XVIII Airborne Corps, says that while airplane and helicopter designs have advanced steadily over recent years, in-flight pilot training has not. Virtual and augmented reality can help pilots see how well they are doing in ground simulators but there's no similar solution to record training data while pilots are in the air. Cockpits are full of instruments and indicators to tell pilots what's happening, but it's very difficult to collect and then later use that information to improve performance.