Thales is leading a research project toward what might be the ultimate in avionics displays–a single-display flight deck. Envisioned are curved surfaces, multi-touch screens and enhanced configuration flexibility. The French avionics specialist and its research partners want to create a more intuitive, pilot-centered man-machine interface. The project–known as Odicis (for “one display for a cockpit interactive solution”)–is expected to produce a proof-of-concept cockpit in about a year.
The research engineers want to keep some interfaces–such as trackball cursor-control devices– that are found in recent-production cockpits. “We will complement them with multi-touch zones,” project coordinator Loïc Bécouarn told AIN. Making touchscreens that can be operated effectively in turbulence requires a lot of testing, he acknowledged. For example, the size of the soft buttons and the ergonomics could be modified so as to retain controllability of the display in turbulence.
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