Evaluation of Night Vision Goggles (NVG) for Maritime Search and Rescue
1991
Robe, R. Q. | Plourde, J. V. | Hover, G. L.
Three experiments were conducted during 1989 and two more have been conducted during 1990 by the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development (R&D) center to evaluate night vision goggles (NVGs) for their effectiveness in detecting small targets at night. Three types of NVGs were evaluated: the AN/ AVS-6 Aviators Night Vision Imaging System (ANVIS) NVG was tested onboard Coast Guard HH-3 and CH-3 helicopters, and the AN/PVS-5C and AN/PVS-7A NVGs were tested onboard 41-foot Coast Guard utility boats (UTBs). During the Fall 1990 experiment, 4-and 6-person unlit life rafts, with and without retro-reflective tape and 18-and 21-foot white boats were employed as targets during realistically-simulated search missions and are discussed herein. A large quantity of well moonlit data were collected during the fall 1990 experiment and this third interim report discusses target types where new information was obtained. A total of 1,612 target detection opportunities were generated for the above-mentioned target types during the five experiments. These data were analyzed to determine which of 25 search parameters of interest exerted a statistically-significant influence on target detection probability. Lateral range curves and sweep width estimates are developed for each search unit/target type combination. Human factors data are presented and discussed. Recommendations for conducting NVG searches for small targets and for additional data collection and analysis are provided.
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