Crew Station Tool Suite

The Crew Station Tool Suite provides the capabilities to rapidly develop real-time OpenGL code for any OpenGL compliant workstation or 3D-accelerator system.   Applications include: Part-Task Trainers; Human Engineering; Crew Station Design; Crew Workload Studies; Sensor Integration; Mission Effectiveness Research; Mission Rehearsal.

Visual Designer

The Visual Designer module is a graphical development tool that allows a user to draw their displays in a WYSIWYG environment. After a drawing has been developed, it can be articulated via the SIMPAC memory interface in real-time as well as non-real-time.

The Visual Designer produces native OpenGL display code that can be transferred to virtually any target development system.

(Note: this module currently produces C++ code. Any other language and/or backend can be provided as required by the user application)

This module alters the traditional display development cycle and minimizes interpretation errors between Human Factors Engineers, Crew Teams and Software Engineers.

Traditional crew display development approach:

System specifications are produced and flowed down to the crew displays

A Human Factors Engineer aids software engineers in the design and drawing of crew displays

Crew teams evaluate the displays (sometimes statically and sometimes dynamically) and suggest updates

Once an approved set of displays have been developed, a software team is provided with a set of pictures and specifications and told to draw the pictures

A Human Factors Engineer evaluates the results and suggest updates

Crew teams evaluate the displays and suggest updates

Code then finalized and put into production

The Visual Designer approach:

System specifications are produced and flowed down to the crew displays

A Human Factors Engineer designs and draws a display using Visual Designer

Crew teams evaluate the displays in a dynamic environment and suggest updates

Once an approved set of displays have been developed, the Visual Designer will generate the native OpenGL source code

A software engineer then integrates the code into the appropriate Operational Program

Crew teams evaluate the displays and suggest updates