So-called synthetic vision (SV) systems are regarded as a candidate technology to increase safety and/or enable operations that are impaired by reduced visibility conditions. Although there is no single agreed upon definition of SV, the common element in almost all definitions and implementations is a computer-generated depiction of the environment as seen from the cockpit based on spatial data.

The implementation on board aircraft started in the early 90s, enabled by the advances in the area of accurated real-time position determination, data storaged and real-time spatially integrated data presentation.

Since 1990, research and development in the area of SV is conducted at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science at Delft University of Technology.

Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), Seattle, October 2011
At the 30th IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference in Seattle, a total of three best paper awards were received. In the session ‘Surface Management and Automation’, the best paper award was for Joris Koeners, Richard Rademaker and the M.Sc. graduate student Erwin Stout. In the session ‘Human Machine Interface Applications’, the best paper award was for the joint TU Delft / Rockwell Collins paper authored by Erik Theunissen and Tim Etherington. In the session ‘Synthetic Vision Systems and Surface Applications’, the best paper award was for the joint TU Delft / Ohio University paper by Erik Theunissen and Maarten Uijt de Haag.

Electronic Flight Bag
Current Electronic Flight Bags (EFBs) can show an ownship referenced airport map. In Delft, an EFB application showing an airport map with the possibility to integrate routing and traffic information was created and evaluated in a simulation exercise. Also, functionality for a dialogue with Air Traffic Control (ATC), route conformance- and runway incursion prevention functions were added.
More information on this subject: > current developments

Since 2001, a joint research project between Delft University of Technology (TUD), the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF; www.luchtmacht.nl) and The Royal Netherlands Naval College (KIM; www.kim.nl) has addressed several aspects of UAV mission management.
More information on this subject can be found on: www.uav.nl