Rockwell Collins Introduces Touchscreen for Fusion

Rockwell Collins has developed a touchscreen interface for the Pro Line Fusion avionics suite, the company announced on Sunday at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. While no OEM yet has ordered Pro Line Fusion with the touchscreen interface, the touchscreen capability will be certified in 2013 and it is expected to appear in future Pro Line Fusion cockpits. Fusion has been selected for the Bombardier Global series and Learjet 85; Gulfstream G280 (née G250); Embraer Legacy 450 and 500; and Mitsubishi MRJ. Rockwell Collins’s touchscreen PFD and MFD Pro Line Fusion system is, however, targeted at a wide sector of the market, from single-engine turboprops and light jets to Part 25 jets. The touchscreens have some unique features, such as the ability to format screen layouts and choose which elements to place in the layouts. Alphanumeric input will be via physical keyboard because engineers felt that an onscreen keyboard covers up vital information. However, the touchscreens will likely minimize alphanumeric input; –for example, the moving map allows pilots to touch any point on the map and select that as a new waypoint.