Evaluation of Night Vision Goggles (NVG) for Maritime Search and Rescue

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Evaluation of Night Vision Goggles (NVG) for Maritime Search and Rescue

R. Q. Robe / J. V. Plourde / G. L. Hover

Three experiments were conducted during 1989 and two more have been conducted during 1990 by the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development (RD) Center to evaluate night vision goggles (NVGs) for their effectiveness in detecting small targets at night. Three types of NVGs were evaluated: the AN/AVS-6 Aviators Night Vision Imaging System (ANVIS) NVG was tested onboard Coast Guard HH-3 and CH-3 helicopters, and the AN/PVS-5C and AN/PVS-7A NVGs were tested onboard 41-foot Coast Guard utility boats (UTBs). During the Fall 1990 experiment, 4-and 6-person unlit life rafts, with and without retro-reflective tape and 18-and 21-foot white boats were employed as targets during realistically-simulated search missions and are discussed herein. A large quantity of well moonlit data were collected during the fall 1990 experiment and this third interim report discusses target types where new information was obtained. A total of 1,612 target detection opportunities were generated for the above-mentioned target types during the five experiments. These data were analyzed to determine which of 25 search parameters of interest exerted a statistically-significant influence on target detection probability. Lateral range curves and sweep width estimates are developed for each search unit/target type combination. Human factors data are presented and discussed. Recommendations for conducting NVG searches for small targets and for additional data collection and analysis are provided.