Becker Avionics – Vuzix M400

Customer: Becker Avionics
Application: Remote support
Hardware: Vuzix M400
Services: Delivery and support

The customer

Becker Avionics specializes in providing communication, navigation, surveillance, search and rescue equipment for air and ground operations. For 65 years, Becker Avionics has stood for first-class quality and reliability, delivering customer-oriented solutions designed for the toughest operating conditions and safety requirements.

Becker Avionics has the strength to be small enough to be flexible and customer-oriented, and at the same time large enough to guarantee fast delivery times and worldwide customer service. The global presence together with the broad product portfolio makes Becker Avionics a unique supplier in its industry.

The challenge

For decades, customers have been using Becker Avionics products for search-and-rescue missions around the world. Rescue missions rarely take place under ideal conditions, while at the same time every minute counts. Therefore, “Situational Awareness” in particular plays a very crucial role in rescue missions.

As Becker Avionics always tries to be a technology leader in its industry, the company was looking for a product innovation that would support the rescue teams in their missions and make them even more successful.

In the process, the company came across augmented reality technology. The goal was to provide team members with information without disrupting their practiced workflows. Becker Avionics then contacted VR Expert for advice on using the right AR-Hardware.

The solution

After extensive consultation and provision of various test devices by VR Expert, Becker Avionics decided to offer the Vuzix M400 as assisted reality hardware.

The decision was made in favor of the Vuzix M400, because in the practical tests it could be combined very well with the flight helmets of the rescue teams, and at the same time it is robust and insensitive to environmental influences such as water, temperatures and mechanical stress.

“We chose the M400 model from Vuzix because the glasses make a robust impression and are user-friendly. We liked the personal exchange and the advice from VR Expert very much. All our questions were answered in depth and the contact was very professional.“
– Amanda Schulz, Marketing & Public Affairs Manager at Becker Avionics

The M400’s display sits below the eye’s field of vision and the data goggles can be operated hands-free. This keeps the crew’s vision and hands free so that they are not disturbed in their actual tasks despite the supplementary visual information.

On the one hand, the Vuzix M400 can be used by the crews of search and rescue aircraft and helicopters; on the other hand, there is the additional option of using the technology on the ground, for example when searching in rough terrain. Whether in the air or on the ground, the Vuzix M400 is characterized by low weight and intuitive manageability.

The rescue teams always carry a Becker Beacon decoder as a receiver of the distress signals. Up to six Vuzix M400 data goggles can then connect to this and simultaneously access the information required to search for the injured persons. The devices will then display accurate information about the missing person’s location, such as a directional indicator, distance and time to arrival, and a map of the surrounding area.

With the addition of the Vuzix M400 to its product portfolio, Becker Avionics remains true to its tradition as a technology leader.

Search and rescue teams benefit from more efficient mission operations through the use of the data goggles, and from a higher number of lives saved due to the faster location of casualties, while at the same time reducing the risk to their own crew.