There are increasing aural demands on the pilot of a modem military helicopter whereby a great deal of information is presented via traditional mono comms. During a mission there may be times when the pilot does not correctly interpret all of this information. This paper discusses the emergence of 3D Audio technology, where information is presented spatially to the pilot. After an introduction to the technologies involved, trials of 3D Audio at QinetiQ are discussed. A laboratory based intelligibility trial showed that head tracked 3D Audio is easier to interpret correctly than mono audio. A simulator trial further assessed the benefit of 3D Audio showing that using this technology provided spare capacity for the pilot to concentrate on other tasks. The paper ends with a discussion on the future direction of 3D Audio technology within QinetiQ.
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