Cockpit of the future

ALTEN helps a European aircraft manufacturer  to define the new functions  to be introduced into current passenger aircraft by 2025. In order to quickly validate the  new HMI  (Human Machine Interface) concepts among test pilots, ALTEN has developed its own  immersive environment  creation platform based on the VR (Virtual Reality) technology.

Over the coming decade, air traffic will increase greatly and data exchanges between the ground and aircraft will become denser. A multidisciplinary team of 20 ALTEN consultant engineers, system engineers, UX/UI designers, etc. uses feedback from pilots and its in-house research to:

• define new key functions to develop at the level of the cockpit
• highlight the best possible uses for these functions by pilots (ergonomy, display, controls and information, etc.)

The aim being to reduce the crew’s workload and improve the safety of air operations.

The scenario defined and the pilots must validate the human-machine interface modifications. The immersive VR technology places the test pilot in a virtual cockpit, that way the cockpit design team can quickly confirm whether the user has access to the information required.

This digital revolution greatly reduces cost and design times by replacing physical simulation models.