Improving the Operator Interface Through Use of a Touch Interactive Display

The rapid growth of technology has allowed development of systems which are limited not by the processing capabilities of the sensors but by the quality of the information presented to the operator for control and analysis. Such systems are either enhanced or degraded based on the design of the human interface. Additionally, the speed of growth in the technologies has resulted in a need for a faster weapons system development cycle or improved response to the rapidly changing threat environment. This is achieved by capitalizing on the flexibility inherent in newer, software driven systems. The operator interface for such systems must also demonstrate a similiar flexibility. These problems have been attacked by the Navy's Long Range Maritime Patrol community through the use of Integrated Control Panels (ICP's) as replacements for existing and proposed standard knob-and-dial control panels. The ICP's consist of a small plasma panel with a touch sensitive overlay. This permits the panel to function as both a display unit and a control unit. This paper discusses the use of the ICP approach for an enhancement to the acoustic processing system and an integration of a new Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) System into the P-3C aircraft. Both systems are compared to the same systems implemented with conventional technology. The paper deals only with existng systems in actual flight test. The constraints of these additions are described and the evaluation results discussed. Additionally, the relative advantages and disadvantages of the ICP approach for future development are presented.