eSky's began commercialization of OZ , a graphical primary flight display (PFD) licensed from the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition (IHMC). OZ has been proven to provide superior performance in instrument flying tasks compared to conventional instrumentation (the traditional "six-pack") and modern PFDs in integrated avionics systems. In 2008 eSky licensed H-mode, a collaborative flight control technology developed at NASA Langley Research Center that dynamically reconfigures the roles of pilot and automation to adapt to the current situation. H-mode uses a haptic (touch-based) interface to communicate between pilot and automation in addition to a more traditional visual and aural interface. eSky integrated H-mode with OZ to create H/OZ, a hybrid system that provides a new paradigm for autopilot and flight display technology. Since 2007 NASA has funded eSky to develop H/OZ with grants totaling almost $800,000. eSky supplemented this development funding with two awards from the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program totaling $180,000 to support H/OZ development.
In 2009 eSky developed automated metrics to determine crew functional state, the degree to which the crew is capable of full performance, in the presence of fatigue, distraction, hypoxia and other factors. This effort is unique as it uses operational rather than physiologic metrics to monitor crew functional capability. In 2010 eSky filed for patent protection for its crew functional state metric technology. Development of H/OZ now incorporates these crew state metrics as a basis for dynamic reallocation of function between pilot and automation.
In 2011 eSky added audio presentation of flight dynamic information (e.g. course deviation information in both horizontal and vertical planes for precision instrument approaches) to the H/OZ multimedia interface. We are also in the process of adding VTOL capability to H/OZ to enhance the safety of EMS and military helicopters operating in low visibility environments.
eSky's ongoing strategy is to develop OZ and other advanced avionics products either to produce them as standalone systems or to license them to existing integrated avionics producers. eSky is currently developing Centaur, a collaborative flight guidance system based on H/OZ. eSky has established partnerships with IHMC (www.ihmc.us) and Analytical Mechanics Associates, Inc. of Hampton, VA (www.ama-inc.com) to develop OZ and OZ-related technologies.