Custom Graphics Card Designed for AN/AQS-24 Mine Hunting MH-53 Helicopter

For many years Colmek Systems Engineering (CSE) has designed graphical interfaces for both military and commercial customers. These demanding environments often require innovative approaches to solving complex data processing and display issues. The following graphics application highlights a project completed by CSE engineers in support of the AN/AQS-24 Mine Hunting System (towed from the MH-53 helicopter); and demonstrates a customized COTS approach which carefully balances performance, scalability and price, to provide the customer with the best possible solution.

Over the long history of the AN/AQS-24, CSE has utilized a variety of graphical interface components consisting of both hardware and software. While completing a recent upgrade to the system, CSE engineers selected the Quantum3D NVIDIA QUADRO4 Sentiris Graphics Card. With a driver already written for the Sentiris card, CSE was able to use OpenGL in the VxWorks environment, common to the AN/AQS-24 system. This new card was expected to upgrade performance, reduce the footprint and allow for future expandability.

The challenge to overcome was to allow the Sentiris card an optimal amount of time to process data, while keeping in mind the real-time constraints presented in the system; if not managed correctly this can create significant performance issues, clogging the processing channels and slowing the operators scrolling display data.

The Sentiris card would be rendering laser, sonar and menu data in the form of OpenGL textures. The textures are continuously replaced as new data is captured and old data scrolls off the display. Scrolling the real-time data while not overloading the Sentiris card was critical. By studying the data rates and reviewing the texture transfer timing, CSE was able to design software algorithms which precisely paced the texture transfers, thereby eliminating a “stutter-step-effect” from infecting the operators display. The end result is a graphics rich water-fall display, viewed in real-time onboard the MH-53 Helicopter.