Software editor Optis has announced that the US Air Force Research Laboratory at Brooks City-Base in San Antonio, Texas, has chosen its light and color simulation software, OptisWorks, to simulate laser protection eyewear. OptisWorks simulation of laser vulnerability with laser eye protection. (Image: Optis). The software has enabled the lab to approve or reject a manufacturer’s design for use by military aircrew. OptisWorks integrates completely into SolidWorks Corp.’s 3-D CAD program, which was integrated into the lab’s SPEOS solution in 2001. To maximize combat survivability and crew effectiveness, air crews need effective means of protecting their eyes from the risk of injury from lasers. Traditional laser eye protection (LEP) gives some degree of physical protection by filtering out unwanted wavelengths of light while still transmitting visible light. However, these designs can filter out colors used to block laser light which can interfere with the air crew’s ability to read cockpit instrumentation by altering their whole light environment. The OptisWorks software is used to reverse ray tracing techniques, and its advanced colorimetric simulation capabilities are used to ascertain the degree of color change that occurs when a specific element of cockpit instrumentation is viewed through LEP. These capabilities have saved AFRL time-consuming human testing and simultaneously improved the reliability of its findings. For more information, visit: www.optis-world.com