Avionics display specialist Barco will showcase a revolutionary prototype of its future Touch Screen Control Unit at the Paris Air Show 2011. Featuring a full-size high-quality multi-touch screen, this next-generation avionics display introduces enhanced flexibility and near limitless functionality for both existing and new types of aircraft. An experimental application will showcase the capabilities of this prototype device.

Control Display Units (CDUs) are vital input and information devices in many cockpits. In order to upgrade the usability of these devices with new content and applications, Barco has created a prototype Touch Screen Control Unit. Consisting of a high-quality multi-touch screen in the standard dimensions of a conventional CDU, this device is suitable for both retrofit and new installations. The multi-touch screen – allowing input with multiple fingers at the same time – offers pilots the most practical and intuitive approach to consulting and entering the necessary control data.

A touch screen device offers much more flexibility than a conventional CDU system, because the content on the screen is completely user-definable. This means that users can define both the content presented on-screen and the way it is presented, so that the optimal control system is always at their fingertips. Not only can pilots display exactly the same content as on the traditional CDU device – with touch screen buttons replacing the physical buttons – they can also present this content in a way that better suits the particular airplane, or they can display a proprietary application. It even becomes possible to switch between different applications, so that the pilot can use the Touch Screen Control Unit for the most desired goal at all times.

Uniquely developed application

The content for the prototype demonstration was developed in cooperation with Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands. It shows the many capabilities of the device – for example, the ability to update a flight plan according to the information on the weather radar. Further developments on this next-generation CDU will also be carried out with this academic partner.

"This future CDU was engineered following the trend to introduce more touch screens into airplane cockpits," says Steven Luys, Barco's Director Strategic Marketing Aerospace. "The added flexibility of these screens will enhance pilot ergonomics and bring optimal, tailor-made applications to every aircraft. We will use this prototype as a basis for our future developments in this area. As we strongly believe in this concept, Barco is proud to present this prototype for the first time at the Paris Air Show 2011."