Eugenio Diaz, BSEE/BSCE

The Switchable Vision Block Demonstrator Testbed or VBD was a simulator I built between late 2010 and 2011 while working at the University of Central Florida Institute for Simulation and Training, to demonstrate prototypes of the switchable vision technology needed for embedded training. A vision block is a glass periscope used in armored vehicles to look outside without risking being shot directly through the glass. A switchable vision block has an internal display, and it can be manually or electronically switched between the display video, the outside view, or a mix of the two; this allows the projection of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality simulations into the view port. The idea was to swap the conventional vision blocks in a real vehicle for switchable ones to give it instant embedded training capabilities. I made the design of the shell and the vision block quick release holder in Autodesk’s Inventor, while reusing the frame from the previously built and decommissioned C2V testbed as the base. The shell was an ingenious design composed of three sections; each would fold, in origami style, into a compact flat shape to facilitate transportation. For the final look of the shell I enlisted the help of one of the talented artist in our group.