Avionics

- Unit VII: Flight Deck and Cockpits

- Deepak Gaur
- Assistant Professor
- MVJCE
Contents
• Control and display technologies
• CRT
• LED
• LCD
• EL
• plasma panel
• Touchscreen
• Direct voice input (DVI)
• Civil cockpit and military cockpit
• MFDS
• HUD
• MFK
• HOTAS
Introduction
• Modern passenger aircraft employ a variety of
different display technologies on the flight deck,
including those based on conventional cathode
ray tubes (CRT), light emitting diodes (LED) and
liquid crystal displays (LCD).
• Flat-panel displays, such as active matrix liquid
crystal displays (AMLCD), offer considerable
savings in volume compared with CRT displays.
• The latest AMLCD displays have performance
parameter capabilities that exceed those of
traditional CRT displays.
• The main advantages are in weight, power, volume (size), and reliability.

• However, AMLCD provide improved performance in several other areas

including:

1. A high degree of uniformity of luminance, resolution and focus over the full
display area
2. Ability to maintain display performance over a wide range of viewing angles
3. Immunity to ambient illumination washout and colour de-saturation
4. Ability to support a wide range of adjustable brightness levels
5. Ability to maximize the useable display area for a given panel size
6. A high degree of fault tolerance
7. Resistance to vibration and mechanical shock
8. Ability to maintain performance over a wide temperature range
9. Electromagnetic compatibility and ability to operate in the presence of high
energy radiated RF fields
CRT Displays
• Apart from mechanical indicators, filament lamps, and moving coil
meters, the cathode ray tube is the oldest display technology in
current aircraft use.
• Despite its age, the CRT offers a number of significant advantages,
including the ability to provide an extremely bright color display
which can be viewed over a wide range of angles.
• For this reason, CRT displays are still found in modern aircraft
despite the increasing trend to replace them with active matrix
liquid crystal displays (AMLCD).
Multi color CRT
Schematic
• CRT displays use an electron gun assembly to produce an
accurately focused beam of electrons which then impacts against a
phosphor coated screen. By controlling the amount of electrons (i.
e. modulating the current in the beam) it is possible to control the
intensity of the light produced.
Multi color CRT Displays(767/757)
The Cathode Ray Tube
• The cathode ray tube (CRT) is a vacuum tube that contains one or more electron
guns and a phosphorescent screen, and is used to display images. It modulates,
accelerates, and deflects electron beam(s) onto the screen to create the images.
• The cathode, heater, grid and anode assembly forms an electron gun which
produces a beam of electrons that is focused on the rear phosphor coating of the
screen.
• The heater raises the temperature of the cathode which is coated with thoriated
tungsten (a material that readily emits electrons when heated).
• The flow of electrons is controlled by the grid. This structure consists of a fine
wire mesh through which the electrons must pass.
• By controlling the grid potential it is possible to vary the amount of electrons
passing through the grid thus controlling the intensity (or brightness) of the
display on the screen.
• By varying the relative potential on these anodes it is possible to bend and focus
the beam in much the same way as a light beam can be bent and focused using a
biconvex lens.
Figure: Internal
arrangement of a CRT
showing the path
taken by the electron
beam
• Two methods of deflection of e-beams are possible depending on the size
and application for the CRT.
• The electrostatic deflection (commonly used for small CRT displays) uses
two sets of plates are introduced into the neck of the CRT between the
focus anodes and the final anode.
• One pair of plates is aligned with the vertical plane (these X-plates provide
deflection of the electron beam in the horizontal direction) whilst the
other pair of plates is aligned in the horizontal plane (these Y-plates
provide deflection of the electron beam in the vertical plane).
• By placing an electric charge (voltage) on the plates it is possible to bend
the beam towards or away from a particular plate.
• The alternative is that of using an externally applied magnetic field to
deflect the electron beam.
• This method is known as electromagnetic deflection and it is based on two
sets of coils placed (externally) around the neck of the CRT.
Advantages
I. Contrast ratio and Depths of colors greater than LCDs
II. Ability to easily scale to various resolutions.
Dis-Advantages
1. Size and Weight of the tube
2. High power consumption
3. Specification and visual verification of a color
4. Color ability degrading over time due to breaking down
phosphors in the tube.
5. Generating Excess Heat
Light Emitting Diodes
• A light-emitting diode (LED) is a two-lead semiconductor light source.
• It is a p–n junction diode that emits light when activated. When a
suitable current is applied to the leads, electrons are able to
recombine with electron holes within the device, releasing energy in
the form of photons. This effect is called electroluminescence, and
the colour of the light (corresponding to the energy of the photon) is
determined by the energy band gap of the semiconductor.
• LEDs are typically small (less than 1 mm2) and integrated optical
components may be used to shape the radiation pattern.
• LEDs have many advantages over incandescent light sources,
including lower energy consumption, longer lifetime, improved
physical robustness, smaller size, and faster switching.
• Light-emitting diodes are used in applications as diverse
as aviation lighting, automotive headlamps, advertising, general
lighting, traffic signals, camera flashes, lighted wallpaper and
medical devices.
• They are also significantly more energy efficient and, arguably,
have fewer environmental concerns linked to their disposal.
• Light emitting diodes (LED) can be used as general-purpose
indicators. When compared with conventional filament lamps they
operate from significantly smaller voltages and currents.
• LEDs are also very much more reliable than filament lamps. Most
LEDs will provide a reasonable level of light output when a forward
current of between 5 mA and 20 mA is applied.
Working Principle
• A P-N junction can convert absorbed light energy into a proportional electric
current.
• The charge carriers recombine in a forward-biased P-N junction as the
electrons cross from the N-region and recombine with the holes existing in the
P-region.
• Free electrons are in the conduction band of energy levels, while holes are in
the valence energy band. Thus, the energy level of the holes is less than the
energy levels of the electrons. Some portion of the energy must be dissipated
to recombine the electrons and the holes. This energy is emitted in the form
of heat and light.
• The electrons dissipate energy in the form of heat for silicon and germanium
diodes but in gallium arsenide phosphide (GaAsP) and gallium phosphide (GaP)
semiconductors, the electrons dissipate energy by emitting photons. If the
semiconductor is translucent, the junction becomes the source of light as it is
emitted, thus becoming a light-emitting diode. However, when the junction is
reverse biased, the LED produces no light and—if the potential is great enough,
the device is damaged.
Basic types
1. Edge Emitting LED
2. Surface Emitting LED
Major Applications
1. As Backlit indicators in MFD in Avionics
2. Destination displays in Airport Buses from Terminal to Aircraft
3. As traffic light Signs
7 Segment LED
Based on Color
1. Ultraviolet and Blue LEDs (Gallium Nitride)
2. Multicolor LEDs
3. Phosphor based LEDs (Blue-Indium Galium Nitride)
4. Organic LEDs-(OLED)Zinc Selenide
5. Quantum LED-s using semiconductor nano crystals
Function
• Ge, Sil or GaAz as the basic P material having an N substrate, when
excited by a DC voltage, emitting photons
• LED have Anode and Cathode
• Depeding on the material used as impurity, produce different color
• Used to indicate Numerals, and sign indicators for speed, altitude
etc.
Liquid crystal displays (LCD)
• A liquid-crystal display (LCD) is a flat-panel display or other electronically
modulated optical device that uses the light-modulating properties of liquid
crystals.
• Liquid crystals do not emit light directly, instead using
a backlight or reflector to produce images in colour or monochrome.
• LCDs are available to display arbitrary images (as in a general-purpose
computer display) or fixed images with low information content, which can be
displayed or hidden, such as pre-set words, digits, and seven-segment displays,
as in a digital clock.
• They use the same basic technology, except that arbitrary images are made up
of a large number of small pixels, while other displays have larger elements.
• LCDs are used in a wide range of
applications including LCD
televisions, computer monitors,
 instrument panels, aircraft
cockpit displays, and indoor and
outdoor signage.
• LCD displays can be either
reflective or backlit according to
whether the display uses incident
light or contains its own light
source.
LCD Display
Passive Matrix Displays
• In order to display more detail (for example, text and graphics
characters) LCD displays can be built using a matrix of rows and
columns in order to produce a display that consists of a
rectangular matrix of cells.
• The electrodes used in this type of display consist of rows and
columns of horizontal and vertical conductors respectively.
• The rows and columns can be separately addressed and individual
display cells can thus be illuminated.
Active matrix displays
• Active matrix LCD (AMLCD) use thin film transistors (TFT) fabricated on a glass
substrate to that they are an integral part of a display.
• Each transistor acts as a switch that transfers charge to an individual display element.
The transistors are addressed on a row/column basis as with the passive matrix display.
• By controlling the switching, it is possible to transfer precise amounts of charge into
the display and thus exert a wide range of control over the light that is transmitted
through it.
• Color AMLCD comprise a matrix of pixels that correspond to three colors; red, green
and blue. By precise application of charges to the appropriate pixels it is possible to
produce displays that have 256 shades of red, green and blue (making a total of more
than 16 million colors).
• High resolution color AMLCD make it possible to have aircraft displays with a full
graphics capability.
Features
1. Have more Contrast, Sharper, Brighter and faster
2. Smaller and Lighter
3. Energy Efficient
4. Less Eye Fatigue
5. Blurry Images Outside Native Resolution
6. Motion Blur on Fast Moving Images
CRT & LCD Compared
No Features CRT LCD
1 Size & Weight, Heavy Light weight,
viewing angle portable and
large
2 Voltage High Low
3 Brightness Not bright High
4 Eye Fatigue High Less
5 Contrast Ratio Higher than High
LCD 6000:1
 Electroluminescent Displays (ELDs)
• Electroluminescent Displays (ELDs) are a type
of Flat panel display created by sandwiching a
layer of electroluminescent material such
as GaAs between two layers of conductors.
• When current flows, the layer of material
emits radiation in the form of visible light. 
• Electroluminescence (EL) is an optical and
electrical phenomenon where a material emits
light in response to an electric current passed
through it, or to a strong electric field.
Principle
• Consisting of a Solid State thin film Phosphor and a glass Substrate with an
insulator-producing Blue luminescence; other colors by RGB filters
• (GaAs between two layers of conductors
• Through current flow or electric field, conducting layer of material emitting
radiation in the form of visible light.
• Light Emitted by Strong Electric Field driven by +/- 200V pulses
• Instant Turn on and no cooling required
• Can be dimmed at night
• Used as a Backlit display
ELD
Working
• EL works by exciting atoms by passing an electric current through
them, causing them to emit photons.
• By varying the material being excited, the colour of the light
emitted can be changed.
• The actual ELD is constructed using flat, opaque electrode strips
running parallel to each other, covered by a layer of
electroluminescent material, followed by another layer of
electrodes, running perpendicular to the bottom layer.
• This top layer must be transparent in order to let light escape.
• At each intersection, the material lights, creating a pixel.
 LED Vs ELD
• Produce multiple colors • Produce only one color
• Require only small DC voltage • Require high voltage Pulse
(5v or 12V) • No cooling reqd
• No cooling reqd • Can be dimmed at night
• Cannot be dimmed at night • No Technological improvement
• Currently OLED being used in
Avionics
Plasma Panel
• A plasma display is a computer video display in which each pixel on the screen
is illuminated by a tiny bit of plasma or charged gas, somewhat like a tiny
neon light.
• Plasma displays are thinner than cathode ray tube ( CRT ) displays and brighter
than liquid crystal displays ( LCD ).
• Plasma displays are sometimes marketed as "thin-panel" displays and can be
used to display either analog video signals or display modes digital computer
input.
• In addition to the advantage of slimness, a plasma display is flat rather than
slightly curved as a CRT display is and therefore free of distortion on the
edges of the screen.
• Unlike many LCD displays, a plasma display offers a very wide viewing angle. 
Advantages
1. Slim & Low cost
2. Wall mounted
3. Lighter and less bulky
4. Achieves better and accurate color reproduction than LCDs
5. Higher contrast ratios (up to 1:1,000,000)
6. Wider viewing angle-up to 150°
7. No motion blur due to fast response time (up to 0.001
milliseconds)
Disadvantages
1. Susceptible to Screen burn-in and image retention
2. Loosing luminosity over time,
3. Susceptible to "large area flicker"
4. Smaller size not available
5. Susceptible to reflection glare in bright rooms
6. Heavier than LCD due to the requirement of a glass screen to
hold the gases
7. Damage to the glass screen permanent and difficult to repair.
Plasma Vs LCD
No Features Plasma LCD
1 Contrast Ratio High Low
2 Color Accuracy High High
(bright room)
3 Viewing Angle Highest Less
(120 to 130*)
150*
4 For Static image Good V.good
5 For Fast moving objects V.Good Good

6 Use In aircraft Not much suited Highly suitable

Touchscreen
• A touchscreen is an input and output device normally layered on the top of
an electronic visual display of an information processing system.
• A user can give input or control the information processing system through simple
or multi-touch gestures by touching the screen with a special stylus or one or more
fingers.
• Some touchscreens use ordinary or specially coated gloves to work while others may
only work using a special stylus or pen.
• The user can use the touchscreen to react to what is displayed and, if the software
allows, to control how it is displayed; for example, zooming to increase the text size.
• The touchscreen enables the user to interact directly with what is displayed, rather
than using a mouse, touchpad, or other such devices (other than a stylus, which is
optional for most modern touchscreens).
 V. Touch Screen- Contd..

Various Technologies
• Capacitive Touch-screen Technology.
i. Surface Capacitance Technology
ii. Projected Capacitance Technology
• Resistive Touch-screen Technology.
• Surface-Acoustic Wave Technology
• Infra-red Touch-screen Technology.

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 1 – D Resistive Touch Sensing
V. Touch Screen – Contd..

1. Resistive Touch – Screen

• A resistive touch-screen panel is composed of
several layers, the most important of which are
two thin, electrically conductive layers separated
by a narrow gap.
• When an object, such as a finger, presses down
on a point on the panel's outer surface the two
metallic layers become connected at that point:
the panel then behaves as a pair of voltage
dividers with connected outputs.

2 – D Resistive Touch Sensing

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 V. Touch Screen – Contd..

2. Capacitive Touch Screen

• A capacitive touch-screen panel consists of an insulator such as glass, coated with a
transparent conductor such as indium tin oxide (ITO).
• As the human body is also an electrical conductor, touching the surface of the screen results
in a distortion of the screen's electrostatic field, measurable as a change in capacitance.
• The location is then sent to the controller for processing.
• Unlike a resistive touchscreen, one cannot use a capacitive touch-screen through most types
of electrically insulating material, such as gloves; one requires a special capacitive stylus, or a
special-application glove with finger tips that generate static electricity.

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 V. Touch Screen – Contd..

i. Surface Capacitance Tech. ii. Projected Capacitance Tech

• In this basic technology, only one side of
the insulator is coated with a conductive
layer. When a conductor, such as a human
finger, touches the uncoated surface, a
capacitor is dynamically formed.
• location of the touch indirectly from the
change in the capacitance as measured from
the four corners of the panel.
• Projected Capacitive Touch (PCT)
technology is a capacitive technology which
permits more accurate and flexible
operation, by etching the conductive layer.
• An X-Y grid is formed either by etching a
single layer to form a grid pattern of
electrodes, or by etching two separate,
perpendicular layers of conductive material
with parallel lines or tracks to form the grid
(comparable to the pixel grid found in many
LCD displays).

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 V. Touch Screen – Contd..

i. Surface Capacitance Tech ii. Projected Capacitance Tech

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 V. Touch Screen – Contd..

3. Surface Acoustic Wave Touch – Screen

• Surface acoustic wave (SAW) technology uses
ultrasonic waves that pass over the touch-screen
panel.
• When the panel is touched, a portion of the wave
is absorbed.
• This change in the ultrasonic waves registers the
position of the touch event and sends this
information to the controller for processing.
• Surface wave touch-screen panels can be damaged
by outside elements.
• Contaminants on the surface can also interfere
with the functionality of the touch-scree

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 V. Touch Screen – Contd..

4. Infrared Touch – Screen

• Infrared touch-screens rely on the interruption of an
IR light grid in front of the display screen.
• An opt-matrix frame is integrated into the display
bezel that contains a row of LEDs and photo-
transistors, each mounted on two opposite sides to
create a grid of invisible light.
• The opt-matrix frame is isolated from the outside
environment by an IR transparent barrier.
• The IR controller sequentially pulses the LEDs to
create a grid of IR light beams.
• When a stylus enters the grid, it obstructs the beams,
causing one or more of the phototransistors to detect
the absence of light and transmit a signal with the x
and y coordinates.

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Voice Recognition and
Speech Synthesis
Speech Systems
• Displaying text and turns the written text into speech. For "hands
free” for Pilots
• An automated checklist either in text only or in text-to-speech
mode
• Thru Voice Commands & speech regonition systems
• No Co pilot, except a PC
Types of Speech Recognition systems
• Acoustic Model
• Direct Voice Input
• Speech Synthesis
Speech Recognition system
• Specified in terms of accuracy and speed
• Accuracy measured in terms of word error rate (WER),
• Speed is measured with the real time factor.
• Modern Speech Recognition Algorithm-Makhov Model
Direct Voice Input
• Direct voice input (DVI) control is a system which enables the pilot
to enter data and control the operation of the aircraft’s avionic
systems by means of speech.
• The spoken commands and data are recognized by a speech
recognition system which compares the spoken utterances with
the stored speech templates of the system vocabulary.
• The recognized commands, or data, are then transmitted to the
aircraft sub-systems by means of the interconnecting data bus (e.g.
MIL STD 1553B data bus).
• As examples:
1. To change a communication channel frequency, the pilot says – ‘radio’ (followed
by) ‘select frequency three four five decimal six’.
2. To enter navigation data, the pilot says – ‘navigation’ (followed by) ‘enter
waypoint latitude fifty one degrees thirty one minutes eleven seconds North.
longitude zero degrees forty five minutes seventeen seconds West’.
• Feedback that the DVI system has recognized the pilot’s command correctly
is provided visually on the HUD and HMD (if installed), and aurally by means
of a speech synthesizer system.
• The pilot then confirms the correctly recognized command by saying ‘enter’
and the action is initiated.
• The pilot can thus stay head up and does not have to divert attention from
the outside world in order to operate touch panels, switches, push buttons,
keyboards etc. DVI can thus reduce the pilot’s work load in high work load
situations.
• The main characteristics and requirements for an airborne DVI system are
briefly summarized below:
1. Fully connected speech. The speech recognition system must be able to recognize
normal fully connected speech with no pauses required between words.
2. Must be able to operate in the cockpit noise environment. The background noise
level can be very high in a fast jet combat aircraft.
3. Vocabulary size. The required vocabulary is around 200 to 300 words.
4. Speech template duration. The maximum speech template duration is around 5
seconds.
5. Vocabulary duration. The maximum duration of the total vocabulary is around
160 seconds.
6. Syntax nodes. The maximum number of syntax nodes required is about 300.
7. Duration of utterance. There must be no restrictions on the maximum duration of
an input utterance.
8. Recognition response time. This must be in real time.
Direct Voice Input
• DVI allowing the pilot to activate non-safety critical mode and
data entry functions as an alternative to using manual methods
• Manual methods:
• Multi-Function Head Down Display (MHDD) selection and
manipulation
• Radio selection and navigation route manipulation
• Target selection
• Target allocation to formation members
DVI
DVI system
DVI-features
• DVI module -a speaker-dependent, connected word, voice
recognition system
• Can recognise up to 200 words,
• System must be "trained" to recognise each pilot's voice on a
ground station.
• More than 95% in the cockpit environment.
• System coupled with voice warning generation modules
Direct Voice Input
• DVI allows the pilot to activate non-safety critical moding and data
entry functions as an alternative to using manual methods
• Manual data entry
• Multi-Function Head Down Display (MHDD) selection and
manipulation
• Radio selection and navigation route manipulation
• Target selection
• Target allocation to formation members
DVI
• DVI module is a speaker-dependent, connected word, voice recognition system
• It can recognise up to 200 words, any 25 of which may be active at a given time,
says CDC. The system must be "trained" to recognise each pilot's voice on a
ground station. The target recognition performance is more than 95% in the
cockpit environment.
• The system is coupled with voice warning generation modules in the CAMU,
which provide direct voice output.
Types of Cockpits Civil & Military
• MFK- Multifunction Keyboard Cockpit for Single Seat (Military)
• HOTAS (Hand on Throttle And Stick) for Military (F16)
• HMD-Helmet Mounted Display-for Civil Aircrafts
• HUD-Head Up displays for both military and civil aircrafts
• HDD-Head Down Display-all modern aircrafts
 Multi Function Keyboard
(MFK)
• The Multi Function Keyboard (MFK) is an
avionics sub-system through which the
pilot interacts to configure mission
related parameters like flight plan,
airfield database, communication
equipment during initialization and
operation flight phase of mission
HOTAS-Hands on Throttle and Stick
• A style of aircraft control which allows the pilot to access the
cockpit functions and fly the aircraft
• HOTAS controls allow the pilot to carry out complex tasks with
relative ease during intense situations
• Sensor and weapon controls
• Defensive Aid Subsystem (DASS) management
• Aircraft handling
• Target manipulation
• X/Y Cursor Control
• HOTAS, an acronym of Hands On Throttle-And-Stick, is the name given to
the concept of placing buttons and switches on the throttle
lever and flight control stick in an aircraft's cockpit, allowing pilots to
access vital cockpit functions and fly the aircraft without having to
remove their hands from the throttle and flight controls.
• Application of the concept was pioneered with the Ferranti AIRPASS radar
and gunsight control system used by the English Electric Lightning and is
widely used on all modern fighter aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon,
the A-10A/A-10C and others.
• The goal is to improve pilots' situational awareness, their ability to
manipulate switch and button controls in turbulence, under stress, or
during high G-force manoeuvres, to improve reaction time, to minimize
instances when hands must be removed from one or the other of the
aircraft's controls to use another aircraft system, and reduce total time
spent doing so.
Glass Cockpit
• left- and right-side- flight display (FD) and navigation display (NAV)
screens
• horizontal and vertical positions by Electronic Flight Instrument
System (EFIS) for time and speed
• over-and-under center display screens shows the aircraft's systems
conditions and engines performance
Layout of a Cockpit-Head Up Display
• Decided by Engineering and Human factors
• Cockpit desgn based on action/information requirements,
timelines and workload analysis
• Workload analysis include include external vision,internal vision,
right hand, left hand, feet, audidion and verbal
• Usually top down system
Layout of a Cockpit-Head up display
• Displays perpendicular to line of sight ( not more than 45 degrees)
• Each Pilot should have Airspeed indicator, Gyroscope Bank, Pitch
indicator, Altimeter, Rate of Climb indicator, Direction indicator
• Visible instruments for the pilot = Clock, Air temp indicator,
Magnetic compass
Layout of a Cockpit-Head Up Display

Collimator
Canopy
EYE

CRT Lens
Folding Mirror
HUD
• A High intensity with Green Phosphor CRT or an AMLCD array with
high intensity lamp
• A collimator to pass the rays 90 degrees to the Pilot
• HUD may be 2 element or 3 element collimator (combiner)
• For Max brightness HUD-monochromatic
Glass Cockpit in Boeing 737, 767 and Airbus
A300 A310 Airbus