At-a-Glance
The Enhanced Airport Vision Display (EAVD) is Searidge’s user display technology that has been in ATC operation since 2008 and now globally at airports big and small.
EAVD uses a 3D OpenGL video processing and display environment, proprietary “stitching” technology (Tru-Stitch) and display flexibility. EAVD presents a panoramic view of high quality, real-time video that recreates the out-the-window view seen from a conventional control tower.
EAVD is easily integrated with external systems like ground or air radar, airfield lighting status,and weather data, enabling EAVD to overlay dynamic information from these third-party systems on the panoramic video views, creating a powerful and intuitive user interface that presents context-specific flight data.
- Proven user display technology
- Easily integrated with external systems
- Proprietary stitching technology
- Used at regional, national and international airports around the world
Multiple redundancy layers and built-in system health checks in the software ensure the consistent display of real time video at 25-30 frames per second (FPS), at a latency of <1 second between the capture of the video at the camera and the presentation on the display to the user. EAVD is purpose-built to be easily scalable and hardware agnostic, making it future proof as it can support multiple camera manufacturers and camera sensor types, enabling system enhancements as camera technology continues to improve and new capabilities are made available on the market.
What is Tru-Stitch: Video Stitching
Tru-Stitch was developed to improve the natural look and feel of the stitched images presented to users in EAVD. Tru-Stitch effectively blends each of the camera panels in a 3D space while dynamically adjusting for variations in lighting conditions between camera panel edges. This real-time image processing ensures users are presented with a seamless out-the-window view that mimics, as closely as possible, what would be seen by the human eye in the same lighting and/or weather conditions.
Going beyond the creation of a natural out-the-window view, Tru-Stitch also employs image processing algorithms like colour correction, alpha blending and distortion correction. The resulting video presentation significantly advances the user experience from a human factor perspective while maintaining the validity and integrity of the raw video data.
Unlike conventional CCTV, Searidge has developed this proprietary video stitching capability specifically for use in mission critical airport and air traffic control operations. The user display provides a panoramic view, recreating the out-the-window view seen from a conventional control tower in either High Definition or 4K resolution.
Step 1: Capture real-time video of key areas on your airport surface
Video images are taken from as many distributed cameras as required. Our camera agnostic architecture leverages the most advanced camera technology available on the market, or in some cases can use your existing airfield surveillance.
Step 2: Construct location independent out-the-window view
Searidge’s proprietary ‘Tru-Stitch’ algorithm is the most technologically advanced stitching system available on the market. Tru-Stitch blends each of the camera panels in a 3D space while dynamically adjusting for variations in lighting conditions between camera panel edges. This real-time image processing ensures users are presented with a seamless out-the-window view that mimics, as closely as possible, what would be seen by the human eye in the same lighting and/or weather conditions
Step 3: Heads up display: Beyond out-the-window view
The EAVD platform includes a wide range of built-in interfaces, including many industry standard protocols (i.e. ASTERIX, ADEXP, etc.), enabling it to readily integrate with various ATM, CNS, airport, weather, and lighting systems. Overlaying data such as aircraft and gate ID tags, target types, ground lighting, alarms, weather information, and gate status provides controllers with a single source of critical information required for them to make safe and efficient decisions.
Step 4: Versatile display options
The EAVD architecture enables the system’s HMI to be configured on a multitude of display hardware configurations.
This allows us to tailor the HMI to various end users, operational concepts, and locations. Additional features allow you to incorporate role-specific display configurations, toggle on/off external system data as needed, and automate your processes.
Step 5: ‘Electronic binocular’ functionality
High definition (HD) day/night pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras will provide staff the ability to view and zoom into areas of interest on the airfield. PTZ automation and control features enable configurable preset zoomed views as well as manual control capabilities.
The HMI is also configurable, allowing operators to toggle between various automated and manual PTZ settings to best monitor critical areas of interest (e.g. apron areas, gates, hold lines, taxiways, approach path, threshold/touchdown point, runway entries/exits, etc.)
