22 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News • MAY 2014
MARINE ELECTRONICS
I
nnovations in computer display
technology would seem to have
recently hit a plateau. With the ad-
vent of LCD panels, improvements
in computer displays have recently been
limited to larger screens, higher pixel
resolution, greater energy effi ciency,
and lighter, more effi cient use of base
resources. Yet there remains two areas
where computer display manufacturers
can continue to offer improvements: the
human-machine interface, and local dis-
play intelligence. To offer the most ef-
fective solutions, improvements should
maximize their utility with improve-
ments in performance for specifi c envi-
ronmental conditions. There are several
features a computing display can bring
to embedded computing stations aboard
ships, or ocean platforms; in particular,
the two most glaring problems for users
when out at sea are low-light environ-
ments, and the technical ignorance of the
average user when faced with crashes or
machine malfunctions. Advances in the
display interface can lessen the effects
of these problems and much improve the
user experience.
A Wave of the Hand: Precision Sight
First, let us consider what most bridge
computing stations are like; for instance,
this might be an ECDIS charting station
that could potentially be accessed at any
time of the day or night. This would mean
that the display brightness would be con-
stantly adjusted according to the time of
day and environmental conditions under
which it is being used. During the day,
the brightness would be much higher;
at night, much lower. Daytime viewing
is not a worry: it’s the standard. Yet the
other brightness levels, for the rest of the
day, are specifi cally addressed within
the ECDIS standard: it requires that any
ECDIS type-approved display must be
capable of rendering accurate colors at
three different brightness intensities.
BY MARK LIU
Ergonomic ControlsErgonomic Controls
Innovation for ECDIS, Bridge Controls
MR #5 (18-25).indd 22 4/30/2014 2:33:51 PM
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