Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it Iron Man? Well, yeah, kind of..!
We are constantly excited to be working in partnership with Richard Browing, founder and chief test pilot of Gravity.co. We are developing the software for the Gravity (Daedelous) jet suit which involves transmitting data up into the Sony Smart-Eye Glass technology as part of the helmet’s heads-up display.
Heads-Up!
Throughout the evolution of the Gravity jet-suit, Richard has had to overcome a whole raft of problems, one of which, in the beginning, was that the flight data device he was using was awfully rudimental and terribly unreliable; it was a simple device stuck down the side of his boot that vibrates when fuel levels were low, thus indicating that he needed to land. On one occasion Richard ran out of fuel mid-flight and quite literally fell out of the sky because he couldn’t feel the device vibrating.
The idea then was to install the Gravity helmet with Sony Smart-Eye Glass technology which projects information into a Heads-Up-Display (HUD) unit. What Richard then needed was an Android app that could be integrated with the Sony SmartEye glasses thereby enabling the projection of critical flight data into the HUD, giving him constant visualisation of the critical information such as engine speeds and fuel levels.
Continuously iterating Gravity
Richard provides with constant feedback on how the app is performing along with ideas on how the display of data can be improved. We then implement this feedback in the app, trying and testing different forms of visualisation as well as other data points that can be obtained from the computer onboard the suit.
We are also experimenting with the Android phone itself and whether other data can be pulled into the app that could enhance the overall flying experience – more data should lead to greater safety and more confident pilots.
Airborne in Mumbai
Richard gave a demonstration of the Gravity suit at TEDx event in Mumbai (Feb 2018) which Srini and Henry attended should any technical support have been required on the day. You can see footage of Richard on our YouTube channel here.
Technology
Android application, Sony Smart-Eye Glass SDK
