Comuter Systems For Master Chief Suit

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DreamHazard said:
Just a thought for you, if you're using a digital camera, if you can get IR LED spots, you can have night vision. Pretty much all digital cameras/webcams can see IR light, just point a TV remote at it, press a button and you'll see it flashing on the screen. You make an IR filter from (if I remember rightly) an exposed or developed piece of film (can't remember which I'm afraid) so you can filter out the visible light and just have the IR (pointless, it's better to use the same camera for normal vision and night vision, although you could possibly have a filter on a rail so it slides over the lens and you can have cool night vision effects instantly... I don't think it's worth it though.



Bear in mind if you're using IR spots, your suit's lights will be invisible to people, but CCTV/police helicopters would see you lit up like a beacon. Just in case you were planning on going Tom Clancy =P



You can buy a USB GPS Dongle which will work on linux systems, not sure if they're any good, but it may be worth looking into. I think I saw one in the UK for about 20GBP



As for the motion sensor, I don't think it'd be a feasible option. When you move in the suit, any objects you pass will show up. You'd need some way for the system to differentiate between a hostile and a lamp post.



Try looking into Linux From Scratch. I'd suggest starting up a community project (Google wave is good for this) where people can contribute to a LFS system



@Anubis4451: We're a community! projects like that can be workload spread over the Internet and everyone can contribute, greatly reducing time required to produce a project. Plus a simple stripped out Linux system would work in the interim



@Kevlar: that said, you'd be best of beginning with xubuntu, which has a much smaller memory footprint. Also, if you can get an efficient cache for the camera it would work, but you're best looking at other things too, such as using an interface other than USB. If you can get hold of a FireWire camera it may help a lot, the FireWire interface is much faster than USB USB vs FireWire



The main problem with using Linux is drivers. You may find it difficult to get the parts you need working with Linux, so get forum dredging before you buy any kit. Measure twice and all that



Mmmmm...you'll have to get back to me with some more info on the IR filter, that sounds like a good idea. IR LED's aren't to expensive (in perspective) so i'll get quite a few of them. And i DO think it would be worth while pursuing that idea as well, if i were able to couple the visor with IR filtering, then i'd easily be able to just "flick a switch" and have night vision, also, less complication = greater efficieny = less breakdowns. I am yet to try google wave, but when i do, (and when i get the parts for the pc) i'll be sure to set up a project forum.



I don't know if i'd be able to get a hold of any FireWire systems, they are pretty expensive.



And if all else fails with the pc system, then i guess i'll just add a bunch of analogue electronics and microchips to do what i want.



Cheers! :p
 
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KevlarSpartan said:
Mmmmm...you'll have to get back to me with some more info on the IR filter, that sounds like a good idea. IR LED's aren't to expensive (in perspective) so i'll get quite a few of them. And i DO think it would be worth while pursuing that idea as well, if i were able to couple the visor with IR filtering, then i'd easily be able to just "flick a switch" and have night vision, also, less complication = greater efficieny = less breakdowns. I am yet to try google wave, but when i do, (and when i get the parts for the pc) i'll be sure to set up a project forum.



I don't know if i'd be able to get a hold of any FireWire systems, they are pretty expensive.



And if all else fails with the pc system, then i guess i'll just add a bunch of analogue electronics and microchips to do what i want.



Cheers! :p





Found it!



Homemade IR Filter



I know FW gear is pricey, but it's worth the extra if it stops you falling over.



I don't think you need the IR filter, you just need the LED spots. The only reason for needing an IR filter is to have "night vision" in the day.



I'd also try having a preset button (ie assigned a macro or something) to instantly increase or decrease the camera's exposure. That way when you're using IR you'll still be able to see. IR lights are very dim in comparison to, for example green light, which is at the middle of the visible spectrum. That's why a green laser appears brighter, even at the same power output.



Also, not sure if you overlooked the GPS dongle thing, but as you didn't respond, I'll talk a little more about it. It appears to have native Linux compatibility, either that or the drivers are on a disk, but either way, it means that it's supported, which is always good. It seems to have its own software, which I'm sure you'd be able to hack directly into the visor as a means of navigation, removing a bulky device from your arm, which I'm sure would be difficult to manipulate with your gloves on.



I should be able to send you a wave invite, I'm on there, not sure if it's still in beta (not been on it for a while)
 
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WOAH.... I think my brain just shut off for a couple of seconds after readin the start of the topic and the rest of it...



You Guys need to stop makin up words! :D.. I know they're real... i... just... can't.... comprehend....



What i can comprehend is that, kevlar's from Oz... Where abouts are you man? I'm down in Vic.



Best of luck with the project... i might go read the dictionary and see if i can find any words from this topic in them! Lol... You guys are great...



Cheers, Dave.
 
XxCALIBERxX said:
WOAH.... I think my brain just shut off for a couple of seconds after readin the start of the topic and the rest of it...



You Guys need to stop makin up words! :D .. I know they're real... i... just... can't.... comprehend....



What i can comprehend is that, kevlar's from Oz... Where abouts are you man? I'm down in Vic.



Best of luck with the project... i might go read the dictionary and see if i can find any words from this topic in them! Lol... You guys are great...



Cheers, Dave.



Hey man, get involved! If you don't understand any of the words, and something sounds interesting or you get the feeling that what's been said has excited people, look it up... Google and Wikipedia aren't bad data sources, and you can learn a lot of things. I'd have found all of this interesting even if I wasn't studying in the field... You never know, you may unearth something that the rest of us have overlooked...



That's how the community works, we all work, learn, and build together towards greater armour :)



And WIN!
 
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@ DreamHazard: Im liking that IR filter article! Never would have thought it'd be so....simple. No doubt i'll look into this more! I think IR filtering in the day would only serve a greater purpose if i wanted to be like the Predator and see heat through trees, which i guess could be helpful indeed. Having some sort of button to increase/decrease the IR filter range would be fantastic, and it would look cool to just "flick a switch" and have IR filtering fade into existance on my visor, and then back out with another flick of the switch. Soz about not getting back to you on the GPS dongle the other day, got sidetracked. It sounds like a good idea though, but i still wouldn't mind something on my forearm, and short of getting a giant GPS Navigator, i could simply plug the GPS USB in my pc system and link it to a small (really small and flat) screen on the forearm, as an instant referrence, however, id have to set the pc to load up the map off the dongle on start up, or i'll get stuck trying to load it up manually with a keyboard and mouse.



And with wave, yeah, absolutely, send an invite and we can start a project, may as well get the whole 405th involved if ya can!



@ XxCALIBERxX: Victoria! nice, im up in Birkdale/Queensland (i should probs add that to me profile), it;s way too hot up here at the moment, i tried ordering an ice cream the other day and got a milkshake in a wafer cone. And as DreamHazard said, feel free to get involved!



And just to the rest of the people who read this, im off to get the parts for the pc system in a few days time. So stay tuned for photos!



Cheers!
 
I'm not going to say its a stupid idea, but it seams a little silly. computers are too big and heavy. if you were putting something like an ammunition counter it into a weapon like a AR, then that would be different. having something in the costume makes it so only you the wearer can see it. putting something into the weapon makes it so other people can see it too.
 
@Kevlar - Can you PM me with your email address so I can send you this Wave invite?



Also, I don't think you'll get that level of IR imaging, the closest you'll get is the kind of night vision used in films, that kinda off-white imaging. Still looks cool though.



@n00b64 - If that man wants a computer system, let him have a computer system! Armour is not just something to show off to your friends and the community, it's something that you've made under your own power for yourself, and is customised and created entirely for you. There's nothing to say that it's silly, it's incredibly useful. We're talking about night vision, and GPS, and potentially a whole load of other useful additions to a suit, it's not just for the sake of saying "hey, I've got a computer in my MJOLNIR", although even if that is the only reason, it's a good enough one for Kevlar, and it's a good enough one for me. I'm studying for a computing degree, and I think that suit integration of computing systems is a giant step forward in any field, but doubly so in the hobbyist field, where WE as a COMMUNITY group together to help create something spectacular, not to say "hey look everyone, we can do this, what can you do?" but so we can look around at each other and say "great work guys, we did it". It's about community and achievement. Who cares what it looks like? I don't have any complete pieces yet, but if you look through my posts you'll see a lot of contribution to the community, throwing in ideas where I can, as do a lot of the other members. This is only your second post on this forum, and something tells me you don't tend to read a lot before you post, maybe you read a little of the first page before deciding to reply with your opinion (not that it isn't valid, all opinions good or bad are valued) but that reply tells me that you haven't read all of the topic, otherwise you would have commented on the specific functionality discussed here, rather than the fact that "ZOMG someone's putting a computer in a halo suit, that's a bit silly".



I'm not trying to flame or be harsh here, but you really need to read the threads and join in the discussion rather than just say "I think this is a silly idea".







To break down your post -



"I'm not going to say its a stupid idea, but it seams a little silly." - Your opinion, valid, you don't see the point in it.



"computers are too big and heavy" - earlier in this topic sizing and weight problems have been discussed and (in theory at least) overcome.



"if you were putting something like an ammunition counter it into a weapon like a AR, then that would be different." - Yes it would. But he's not, at least, that's not what we're discussing here.



"having something in the costume makes it so only you the wearer can see it." - There's little point in having someone else see it, but the screen's output could be captured, et voila, the first live first person feed from a MJOLNIR-mounted camera



"putting something into the weapon makes it so other people can see it too." - Still failing to see the importance of other people seeing what's in your armour. Armour isn't aesthetic, it's armour. It's the outermost shell of a soldier. It's not there to look pretty, it's there to save you. Granted, this isn't actual battle armour, but as a costume it should be as true to life as possible. Also, an ammo counter is only really useful to the soldier wielding the weapon.





Please try not to knock other people's projects, a lot of time and effort goes into the work done here, and negative comments (especially those made with no point in mind) will discourage people from their work. The 405th deserves the best its members can give, and we give our best when we work together. Unity.
 
@DreamHazard There's no problem with playing Devil's Advocate either. People have every right to tell him it won't work, just like you have the right to tell him you think it's peachy. Personally, he hasn't actually said anything he's going to do, so I don't have an opinion. He's going to stick a computer in his armor... ok, no rocket science there. Then he's going to be handling "input/output", storing "documents", watching camera feeds, recording data from "sensors", running "off the shelf scripts"... all from the comfort of his Halo armor. Those are a bunch of completely meaningless buzzwords. That could mean anything from he plans to keep tabs on Hanna Montana's twitter feed, to he plans to be tracking incoming artillery rounds through a visor HUD.



I'm actually impressed that anyone thinks it's a good or bad idea at all. Sticking a netbook in the hollow of your back plate is no bigger deal than sticking it in a drawer. It's what he wants to DO with it that can be debated as a good or bad idea, and as of yet he's playing those details close to the vest.
 
@ sidewayz: Extra work = better outcomes. :)



@ n00b64: Honestly, your entitled to your opinion, call it what you will, but don't say it'll never happen, that's what Hitler said about being beaten by allied forces, and look what happened to that asswipe. And as DreamHazard said, we have discussed weight issues, and for the amount of components i plan to install, it won't be overly heavy. Solid State Drives (or SSD's, which is going to be the hard drive i plan to use) are lightweight in comparison to a conventional Hard Disk Drive. The rest of the components are silicon chip based, which we all know, are light as a feather. It's not going to be some uber elite gaming system, but it will, however, do what i want it to do.



@ DreamHazard: Im greatly appreciating the support you give, and im looking foward to setting up a community project on Wave, i PM'd my email, so you should have it. You're correct in what you've said to n00b64, we are a community, and flippant comments like that shouldn not be allowed. Still, i look foward to the Wave project!



@ Awesomeness: Ok then, i can tell from your post that you're keen to know WHAT i wish to do with all these things. Well, i have put some thought into it, and here we go:



1. As for the cameras, their sole purpose is to provide the upper-hand in way of sight, i will use it for zooming in, for getting extra clarity to the outside world, and for recording and alike, the hallmarks that make cameras so useful.



2. The computer system will not only be used to documents and for storing a database of interesting things (such as schematics for buildings, information on people and places), so i can have a quick referrence of need-to-know stuff in a small database.



3. Any data given to me by any sensors i have will help me to keep up efficieny, as in, the motion sensor will alert me of targets, so i get a few seconds warning and can act upon that, temperature readings from a laser temp gauge i pland to use will stop me from entering places that are too hot or cold for the computer system to handle.



And on the contrary, im not playing the details close to the vest, i've just tried to answer in such a way that you would find satisfactory, hopefully, the above will clear that up. I have not intention of hiding any details, that's not my game, everything is open, you just need to ask the right questions.









So let's all remember that this is an idea, it hasn't been done yet, so any de-bugging as such can be done now, but only with good, solid comments or constructive criticism. Silly or not, i'm still going to attmept it. And just as a thought to those who find this silly, stupid or impossible; imagine for a moment that the year is 1800 and i said that in 200 years we'll have automatic weapons or jet planes, seems impossible back then, but look at now. It's all about perspective.



So remember the 405th moto:



HONOR



ARMOR



UNITY





Cheers! :p
 
KevlarSpartan said:
@ Awesomeness: Ok then, i can tell from your post that you're keen to know WHAT i wish to do with all these things. Well, i have put some thought into it, and here we go:



1. As for the cameras, their sole purpose is to provide the upper-hand in way of sight, i will use it for zooming in, for getting extra clarity to the outside world, and for recording and alike, the hallmarks that make cameras so useful.



2. The computer system will not only be used to documents and for storing a database of interesting things (such as schematics for buildings, information on people and places), so i can have a quick referrence of need-to-know stuff in a small database.



3. Any data given to me by any sensors i have will help me to keep up efficieny, as in, the motion sensor will alert me of targets, so i get a few seconds warning and can act upon that, temperature readings from a laser temp gauge i pland to use will stop me from entering places that are too hot or cold for the computer system to handle.



And on the contrary, im not playing the details close to the vest, i've just tried to answer in such a way that you would find satisfactory, hopefully, the above will clear that up. I have not intention of hiding any details, that's not my game, everything is open, you just need to ask the right questions.



So let's all remember that this is an idea, it hasn't been done yet, so any de-bugging as such can be done now, but only with good, solid comments or constructive criticism. Silly or not, i'm still going to attmept it. And just as a thought to those who find this silly, stupid or impossible; imagine for a moment that the year is 1800 and i said that in 200 years we'll have automatic weapons or jet planes, seems impossible back then, but look at now. It's all about perspective.



Ok, well this we can start to work with. I still think you're doing it a little backwards. For instance, just saying "I will get input from sensors" could really mean anything. Saying "I will want to have a temperature sensor, so I can measure heat before I go in an area" is great, because you identified the need/want (i.e. not going in a too-hot area), and figured out how to address it (i.e. by having a temperature sensor).



1. Cameras: How many cameras do you plan to have? As for zoom, you can use digital or mechanical (lens) zoom. Digital zoom can use a smaller camera, but is generally accepted as being far lower quality. Optical/mechanical zoom needs a bigger camera, with a real zoom lens attached, but will give better results. Which do you think you want to use? Where do you want to mount them (e.g. in the chest, in the helmet)? As for recording, just recording the feeds can be done by low-power netbooks. If you try to start doing image manipulation (e.g. identifying targets) it takes a lot of CPU work, and you probably won't be able to use a netbook, or at least probably not more than 1 camera feed.



2. Computer system: You said you only plan on using "off the shelf" software, not writing your own. What do you plan to use for this stuff (storing documents, displaying them, information on places)? You could probably use some typical GPS laptop software, to get you street-based navigation. They even make some with topographical maps, although in the past it's been expensive. I don't think you'll realistically be able to get access to any "schematics of buildings". Are these things only displayed to you, in the helmet, or are you planning on having an external screen, or maybe one of those new micro-projectors, to display them to other people?



3. Sensors: You're probably going to need to use cameras for motion sensing and tracking. The kind of motion sensors used in security systems would get set off by YOU MOVING, and provide no details about what is moving, how many, etc. Motion tracking from a video feed is processor intensive, so you will be forced to use a much more powerful, heavier, and more power consuming computer. If you PM me, I can give you some more info about motion tracking from a camera feed. Unfortunately, there is nothing out there currently to let you motion track from "off the shelf" software, so you're going to need to do a LOT of programming. That pretty much goes for all types of sensors. If you are ok with learning to program, I would also suggest using accelerometers. You could take that as little as big and you want, from having only a couple accelerometers to write a dead-reckoning program, or full blown where it is tracking the movement of all your limbs/etc. To be doing all this at once (i.e. cameras, target tracking, geolocation, limb position tracking) may require a computer so powerful that you can't carry it. There are a lot of government projects working on this kind of stuff, and they typically have to use a powerful external computer, than is coupled to the robot with a tether.
 
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@Awesomeness: Can we not discuss things like that via PM? As I've said a couple of times already in this thread, we're a community, any input you give to one person regarding a project should be shared with everyone, that's the point of a community.



That said, your motion sensor thoughts have also been plaguing me, how would the system be able to tell whether it's you moving, an item moving, or a person?



Hmm, what you're describing there sounds like the MK I and II MJOLNIR suits, that had to be powered by a seperate system and tethered to the suit via cable. (Source: Halo Encyclopedia)







@KevlarSpartan: I'll send you that wave invite in a second, was there a reason you gave me 2 addresses there?
 
Sorry, motion tracking is the subject of entire books, and is a bit out of scope for this post. This is a costuming community, and there are whole dedicated communities for computer vision. That's why I asked him to PM me about it, but you're free to do the same. This topic barely even has a solid plan yet, so I'm not getting deep into explanations of motion tracking in video here. I designed a motion tracking system for an autonomous paintball gun sentry turret I made, and after about 6 months of hard work, it was only barely capable of attacking close targets (where leading the target, and correction for the paintball's trajectory and velocity changes is minimal).



You are absolutely correct that dead-reckoning via accelerometers is difficult. Location determination is best done via GPS. There are plenty of systems, such as submarines that can't access GPS signals, that do all their positioning with dead-reckoning. It requires lots of programming and math. Each of the sensors knows how fast it's accelerating, and you can obviously time how long, so you calculate how far it has traveled accordingly. You can also determine static inclination (like the bubble-level app for an iPhone). You just use all this information to calculate changes to position. I think it's probably above the capabilities of most people's skills, but you're obviously entitled to try it. I've done some for robots, and it is a long, tedious, problem-ridden process. Even the best hobbyist-level robotics challenges often use dead-reckoning as a difficult problem to tackle, requiring competitors to navigate without GPS. More than likely it would be a couple year project all by itself to learn the requisite programming and electronics skills, and create a stable and accurate design.



Check this out: http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=9016
 
@ Awesomeness: First of all, i'll have to agree with what DreamHazard has said about PM'ing. I would personally prefer any important details to not leave this topic, as that may lead to confusion and alike on future posts, but feel free to post your thoughts & links.



1. Cameras: As for cameras, i plan to have 1, with the possible extension of another. I don't really want to place it on the chest (unless using the iPhone as thatdecade suggested, so i'll find a small enough one to fit on (or in) the helmet. I'd prefer to stay consistant and use a digital camera, as many other aspects of the suit's sytem will be digital (with the acception of analogue circutry for the LED indicators, if you read that section). I don't think i'll get as far as to have image manipulation to the point where i can identify good from bad, so the camera system will simply be restricted to enhancement of vision and not tactial/target identification.



2. Computer system: What i said was that i wasn't going to write any software from scratch (as least not yet), and that i was going to use pre-fab scripts and manipulate them to my needs. If i used the linux/ubuntu system that many have suggested, then as for documents, i'd probs use OpenOffice, displaying them, well, the screen of course, and information on places would come under the documents category, so again, some application in OpenOffice or such. Granted, schematics on buildings would be hard to acquire, but it's just a though of what could be done. All information will be displayed to me first, then i can choose what to send out to others, via (like you have suggested) a micro projector, also, i want to have a screen on my forearm which will display the GPS data.



3. Sensors: As far as my electronics knowledge goes, there are simple analogue RADAR circuits that are good for up to 50 or so meters, but i'll have to look into that. If i decide to go with the analogue option, then i won't have to do any programming as far as i can see. Im clearly not going to get anywhere near what you've stated with the military, so respectfully, i will not discuss it. There is no doubt in my mind that the military has better ways of doing things than i.





@ DreamHazard: I have sent you both my email's just in case one of them doesn't recieve the invite or something. :p







With all that being said, this project won't be a giant leap foward in any technological terms, but it will definately be a leap for suit integration. And not to be overly optimistic, but i could see this type of thing becoming standard practice for 405th costume makers in the future. If my project works.



Cheers! :p
 
this is it... before it was first used, no-one had pepakura, people had to make the costume from reference... CS integration first achieved, then it became standard practise, and we all have them, and suddenly we can have a handshake protocol to put people's markers on your screen and communication between suit users, and the community comes together even more...



Just a vision, but it can happen, it takes people with big ideas to make changes
 
Kevlar, you misunderstood me about the cameras. Both cameras I was talking about are digital. I was talking about the difference between digital and optical zoom. Go read up about it on the internet somewhere and you'll understand.



When I say "target identification", I'm talking about simple stuff, like picking out something moving in the camera's view. You're not really going to be able to reach the level of telling friend/foe apart, period. And there is NO existing software or scripts out there for you to use. If you want your cameras to even be able to identify a moving target, and draw a box around it, you're talking about several hundred hours of programming.



Here's a link to a paintball sentry turret like the one I made... http://paintballsentry.com/

The guy that makes it is a prick though, so I made my own.



I think you're in over your head, technology-wise. I suggest you to do some more research online. This stuff is no joke, and to even start down the paths your talking about, you're getting ready to invest a lot of time and money to pull off any SINGLE part of it.
 
Awesomeness said:
I think you're in over your head, technology-wise. I suggest you to do some more research online. This stuff is no joke, and to even start down the paths your talking about, you're getting ready to invest a lot of time and money to pull off any SINGLE part of it.



I'll reiterate a point I made before, knocking people's ideas is not constructive. The whole point of this thread is to help with Kevlar's research. It's not going to help with you saying he's in over his head. There are people here with enough technological experience to be able to construct a system that would work incredibly well. If you don't think it's possible, fine, but don't directly attack someone's idea like that. I think it's a very reachable goal, and there are many people who are willing to help achieve it. If he's willing to put in the elbow and the dollar, we should be willing to support him.
 
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DreamHazard said:
I'll reiterate a point I made before, knocking people's ideas is not constructive. The whole point of this thread is to help with Kevlar's research. It's not going to help with you saying he's in over his head. There are people here with enough technological experience to be able to construct a system that would work incredibly well. If you don't think it's possible, fine, but don't directly attack someone's idea like that. I think it's a very reachable goal, and there are many people who are willing to help achieve it. If he's willing to put in the elbow and the dollar, we should be willing to support him.



Welcome to the real world, man. I didn't knock him, but you don't need to sugar coat everything, and I don't plan to. I gave him tons of constructive info, but he's going to need a lot more skills before he can pull this off. I didn't say there weren't people here that could build it, in fact I'm one of them, but if he doesn't even know the difference between digital and optical zoom he's a long way from understanding the algorithms for computer vision. Anything is possible, and in our lifetimes we'll see all kinds of great stuff, but unless your name is Lockheed Martin you're not going to be building anything the military defense contractors can't make yet. So I'll help him with the plan, and you can handle praising him unconditionally until it's done.
 
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Alternatively, you could grow up and read what I said.



It's not automatic praise, it's encouragement. We're supposed to all be working together. Misunderstanding the context of a statement does not equal being ignorant of the subject.



You really should start reading posts before adding your self-righteous contribution, just because you can do it, it doesn't mean that other people can't, this is still in the planning stage, so why not either help in the planning process or observe without telling people they're "in over their head"



I'm not here to "praise him continuously", go back over this thread and see the contributions that I've made. I'm here to contribute in a field I'm experienced in, namely computing. I've offered to codesling for the project, and extended invitations to google wave to make the process of designing and sharing ideas and code easier, so that any other coders here on the 405th can also contribute, as I'm sure there will be better programmers here than me. I'm not an elitist, simply someone who knows a lot about computers and systems in general, who can contribute a damn site more than "you're in over your head". I'm not saying you haven't been contributing to this project, I can plainly see that you have, but positive criticism, just think about what you're writing before you hit that "Post" button. Saying that you think someone needs to do more research, that's fine, but back it up with references and sources, point the OP in the right direction.



No-one's trying to surpass the military, just to show a good, yet simple example of a working HUD.



Reading back to Kevlar's post: "I don't think i'll get as far as to have image manipulation to the point where i can identify good from bad, so the camera system will simply be restricted to enhancement of vision and not tactial/target identification"













All that said, back on topic



"2. Computer system: What i said was that i wasn't going to write any software from scratch (as least not yet), and that i was going to use pre-fab scripts and manipulate them to my needs. If i used the linux/ubuntu system that many have suggested, then as for documents, i'd probs use OpenOffice, displaying them, well, the screen of course, and information on places would come under the documents category, so again, some application in OpenOffice or such. Granted, schematics on buildings would be hard to acquire, but it's just a though of what could be done. All information will be displayed to me first, then i can choose what to send out to others, via (like you have suggested) a micro projector, also, i want to have a screen on my forearm which will display the GPS data."



This being my area of knowledge, I'll respond as best I can.



It would be quite simple to write a frontend for a document reader that would slot into the interface quite nicely, just by streaming the information from a file onto the screen, but it would look pretty and be integrated, so you wouldn't need to use OO.Org. A micro projector would likely work directly from the VGA port, but I'm not sure if you'd get a netbook with integrated VGA... I'd look at the spec of both items before purchasing, to make sure you have compatible interfaces.







PROBLEM: looking at the screen on your arm. This may present you with a problem. Using a camera mounted on the helmet is great for general imaging, but may present you with a problem when you're looking at the GPS screen. That was my main reason for suggesting an integrated GPS inside the visor (should have brought that up before, my bad, sorry)



The VISR doesn't have building schematics either, it just shows you on a top down view as being at this geographic location. I don't think it's much of a problem anyway.









EDIT - Reading back over my own post, I think it would be quite easy to write the VISR interface for documents and maps, you could take still images and store them using it, it'd be quite a versatile system, and minimal new design would have to be undertaken to create the new interface. It would be a simple case of recreating the VISR interface directly from Halo 3: ODST



It'd look SWEET!
 
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