Rockwell Collins (Hall 2B D108) is launching a family of products designed to give helicopter pilots better situational awareness when flying in congested and hazard-filled airspace. Called HeliSure, the family’s first two products, Helicopter Synthetic Vision System (H-SVS) and Helicopter Terrain Awareness and Warning System (H-Taws), have been selected by AgustaWestland for its AW149, AW189, AW101 and AW169 helicopters.

“We believe AgustaWestland and its customers will greatly benefit from the enhanced features offered by the two new HeliSure systems,” said Phil Jasper, executive v-p and CEO, government systems, for Rockwell Collins.

HeliSure delivers sensor data in real time through a user interface that features 3-D visualization of information depicting the view outside the helicopter. According to Rockwell Collins, H-SVS perfectly matches the outside world and meets operator requirements for improved situational awareness, particularly in degraded visual environments where an accurate understanding of the surrounding terrain becomes critical. HeliSure employs a high-resolution terrain and known-obstacle database with 3-arc second resolution in all flight phases. The database is comprised of Rockwell Collins’s own high-resolution database combined with algorithms licensed from Sandel Avionics to provide the H-Taws function, according to Rockwell Collins.

The H-SVS system can be ported to most current-generation large-format displays. HeliSure H-Taws addresses the proposed FAA mandate for the use of an H-Taws system by helicopter EMS operators.

“With the introduction of HeliSure, Rockwell Collins is the only company offering a completely unique portfolio of products combining visualization, displays, sensors and databases that together increase situational awareness,” said Jasper.