Today's avionics system designer is like an artist with new materials, new colours and a new canvas bigger than anything seen before. The opportunities are vast. Big ideas, however, are not always welcome, given that there is a legacy in the business, too. Avionics is on a tightrope that only the boldest systems designers are daring to tread. They press ahead because expectations are heaped upon them to continue to provide more capability at less cost. Simultaneously, they are also expected to make a positive contribution to air safety overall. The technical challenges that present themselves are in two fields. One concerns electronics hardware developments ― processors and user interfaces (displays and controls), which come under the term of 'hardware' and the other is the programs that go within them, termed the 'software'.
展开▼
