Display technology perks up

HUD, software make big strides in cockpit appearance and flight safety.

Electronics continue to transform aircraft cockpits with digital techniques for displaying information in ways that are easier for pilots to understand. Head-up displays (HUDs) are augmenting the digital displays that now dominate commercial aircraft.

At the same time, the software that drives these displays is undergoing significant shifts. Standards are making it simpler to write programs ranging from those that draw images on the screens to the control software that operates mission-critical technologies.