Application Stories Rockwell Collins In-flight Entertainment Gets the Personalized Touch with Rockwell Collins and Touch International Touch International provides touch sensors allowing aerospace giant Rockwell Collins to simplify the interaction between passengers and in-flight entertainment units. Whether a passenger's in-flight entertainment preferences run toward the audio channels, or maybe it's spending their travel time watching the latest Catherine Zeta Jones movie, or buried in the latest video games, chances are very good that the in-flight entertainment unit being used on your next long-haul flight has been manufactured by Rockwell Collins. Rockwell Collins, a $2 billion dollar aerospace mega giant that recently won the coveted Forbes 2004 Best Managed Companies in America award, is recognized as a top provider of aviation and information technology for government, the world's aircraft manufacturers and more than 400 airline customers around the globe. In-Flight Entertainment: In-flight entertainment first came into existence as a way to keep passengers occupied, especially on long flights. As in-flight entertainment has evolved, airlines have moved toward a more personalized approach allowing passengers to make individual content selections while in their seats. In-flight entertainment products are now installed on nearly every newly purchased wide body aircraft being flown by commercial airlines around the world, and the majority of these entertainment units are built by Rockwell Collins. These systems have literally become client-server computer networks where the passengers are the clients able to make their entertainment selections from a centralized onboard cache of audio and video materials as well as games, and other forms of onboard entertainment. In addition, in-flight programming is expanding to include SMS messaging, live T.V., digital duty free shopping, and email and Internet access. The Challenge: To design a product with an intuitive, durable, space constrained interface that would meet strigent industry and regulatory guidelines. The first challenge for Rockwell Collins was to decide on the type of interface that would be used between the passenger and the display. Since the age of the passengers could be anywhere from 3 to 93, and the level of computer knowledge would range from non-existent to geek, the interface needed to be simple to use as well as intuitive. There were also space constraints to be concerned with, and the interface needed to be extremely durable since Rockwell Collins staff knew that these units would be used by a multitude of people over the life span of the airplane. The Solution: To develop a touch-based customer interface that could stand the rigors of constant use, and could be customized to meet the rigorous specifications that the airline industry demands. - Rockwell Collins chose Touch International as their Partner. "We needed touch technology that not only could withstand hot coffee spills, active three year olds and everyday wear and tear, but could meet the numerous heating and electrical design specs that air travel and government regulations require. Touch International was our preferred touch screen manufacturer they could meet our stringent requirements," said Bob Wadell, Manager, Purchasing and Subcontracts. "We needed Touch International's expertise in custom touch screen manufacturing based in their Austin facility, coupled with the economies of scale that they could give us with their high volume manufacturing plant in Asia to ensure that our in-flight units came in at the appropriate price point," he stated. The touch interface offers an alternative to the remote control, the traditional method of navigating through passenger graphical user interfaces. Passengers seem to be more comfortable using the touchscreen interface because they can make their menu selections directly on the screen versus having to learn how to manipulate a remote control unit that may be unfamiliar to them if they are not frequent fliers of a particular airline. Rockwell Collins' touchscreens had very specific requirements. These specialty resistive in-flight units include special EMI shielding on the back of the touchscreen to provide filtering of display noise. The screens have been manufactured with a privacy filter as well, to ensure that only the passenger sitting directly in front of the unit is able to see what is on the screen. Another key requirement for these units is the ability to withstand a wide range of temperatures as the planes that they are installed in could be sitting for hours on a runway with dessert hot temperatures as well as on sub-zero runways like those found in Alaska for example. The units also have a built-in flame retardant characteristics in case of fire somewhere on the plane, thus allowing these in-flight entertainment units to self-extinguish. Finally, Rockwell's touch screen is unique in that they also have printed hardware defined buttons located at the bottom of the screen in addition to the software defined buttons used in all touch screen products. Along with the touchscreen requirements that Touch International has been able to manufacture, they have also met Rockwell Collins shipping requirements to a number of locations around the globe. The Future: The evolution of the in-flight entertainment industry has traditionally mimicked the evolution of passenger expectations for their on-the-ground experience. Passengers want to continue to enjoy the activities they experience on the ground when they fly. Airlines are under competitive pressure to meet these expectations. The in-flight entertainment equipment providers work to satisfy these needs. Rockwell Collins expects these trends to continue, as they continue to deliver superior products to meet the aviation industry's requirements. Partnering for Value "Touch International has been a true partner in this venture," Bob Wadell added. In addition to manufacturing a touchscreen that has been specifically designed to meet the stringent requirements for in-flight entertainment, Touch International has also helped us put together an upgrade program for our install base by making the units Internet ready. This program will save us more than $1 Million dollars."