Fremont, CA: "Avionics" often refers to "electronic equipment fitted in an aircraft." Currently, the concept includes flight controls, indicators and displays, communication, navigation, weather, system monitoring, and anti-collision systems. From flight control systems to in-flight entertainment, the top companies in avionics are driving significant advancements in the aviation industry.
Factors contributing to the effectiveness of an avionics system
Automates routine tasks: A poorly designed interface automates some processes while requiring the pilot to perform many more steps for other typical tasks. Thus, a successful system automates the most common tasks. The most useful automation includes direct features for completing mission tasks.
Stay ahead of the industry with exclusive feature stories on the top companies, expert insights and the latest news delivered straight to your inbox. Subscribe today.
For example, if the pilot must memorize a series of subtasks, this becomes time-consuming and attention-demanding, reducing reliability and efficiency. Of course, all of this is obvious. Therefore, the avionics provider must have a thorough understanding of the pilot's job and the aircraft's specific purpose.
Quickly formats data: Anyone who has ever used a keyboard, and that includes all individuals, knows how tough it can be to operate while performing other chores. Ideally, knobs and buttons should be built for one-handed operation.
Touchscreens are truly one of the most significant developments. They have the potential to simplify data entry, but only if properly formatted. As previously stated, this necessitates an avionics provider with a strong background in aerospace technology development from the pilot's perspective. A drop-down menu is also frequently useful in addressing the following difficulty.
Allows for rapid input commands: Designated dialog boxes make it much easier for the flight crew to prepare their data, including routes and cabin conditions. Shortcuts and specialized buttons can also be useful. Voice controls can entirely eliminate this difficulty, but they must also be effectively developed. Furthermore, requiring pilots to recall complex voice commands reduces the benefits and efficiency of voice control.
Quickly locates the right screen: These routine tasks should be automated and easily accessible. This means that the screen or panel should be easily accessible and close at hand.
Confirms completion: This final item is so basic that it's nearly unbelievable how many designs fail to take it into account. The system should convey when the user has finished a task or set a setting. Without this core design idea, the device is, at best, a waste of time and, at worst, a deadly distraction from the pilot's primary responsibility: arriving safely and on schedule. Overall, the effectiveness of any new cockpit user interface depends on the designers' ability to comprehend the mission tasks and provide sufficient automation to assist the pilot in doing these tasks.
