Contact
Specialist Electronics Services Ltd
Craven Court
Stanhope Road
Camberley, Surrey
England
GU15 3BS
Tel: 01276 63483
Fax: 01276 63327
Specialist Electronics Services Ltd
Craven Court
Stanhope Road
Camberley, Surrey
England
GU15 3BS
Tel: 01276 63483
Fax: 01276 63327
The C3DU product family provides a range of high performance solutions for the display of graphical and textual information in applications requiring environmentally rugged and reliable performance. Typical applications include data display and remote control of systems such as those found in industrial, aerospace, defence, naval and safety-related environments.
SES Control and Display Units offer maximum flexibility of function, performance and physical form. The choice of display type, its size, and the type of interface to external systems, functional performance and physical implementation can all be selected to meet specific requirements from SES core elements.
Core Processing
C3DU core processing comprises a high performance COTS based solution incorporating display interface drivers for VGA, video or serial interfaces and providing capability for graphical, video or simple alphanumeric displays. The interface module provides electrical isolation of input and output signals and can be configured to accommodate interface conversion between the processing unit and external systems. The baseline interface types of RS232/RS422 and Ethernet are available from the processing unit.
The power supply unit supports operation from either 115/240V AC or 15-30V DC and is user selectable through the power connector.
The Core Processing is available for operation over the temperature range of 0°C to +70°C or in an extended temperature range version -40°C to +85°C.
Electrical Interfacing Options
A single optically isolated RS422 bi-directional interface is provided as the standard default solution and is configured to receive NMEA 0183 format serial data.
The core design includes a "for but not with" capability to enable the implementation of alternative COTS interfacing solutions including:
Mechanical Design
The core enclosure has been designed to minimise the occupied space envelope commensurate with the protection of the display and core electronics necessary to meet shock and vibrations standards for aerospace, land and naval applications.
SES Mechanical Designers' portfolio of implementation experience and expertise provides the flexibility to tailor the physical size, shape and weight of the core design to meet the most exacting requirements.
Software Development
SES display systems can be supplied as a turn-key solution, with all software development carried out by SES to customers' functional specification utilising SES's experience in high-reliability embedded systems, including safety related system development to Def-Stan 00-55/56. Alternatively display units are supplied with a development system, allowing clients to design and generate their own applications.
The SES core solution is implemented for display unit applications receiving NMEA 0183 format serial data, via an RS422 interface. This solution has the option of additional Generic NMEA 0183 Display Software package providing a library of NMEA sentences and parameters and a set of standard display elements to enable users to quickly and easily configure the format and type of information displayed.
System Integration
In conjunction with software services SES offers a range of software-based simulation systems. These simulations, on a standard desktop PC, mimic the complete function of the display unit, allowing testing and assessment of applications prior to loading on the real hardware. The simulation enables significantly more development and testing time to be allocated to any given RCDU based project timetable. Each application provides all the necessary interface, display and button functionality of the real hardware unit, in an easy to use Windows-based desktop application. Everything needed to begin trials of system operation right from the word go.
The advantage of having a target system that is also a fully functional PC is that the majority of code development and testing can be performed on the system developers' desktop PC and easily deployed to the target system via an Ethernet connection. Any of the popular compilers, such as Microsoft Visual Studio .Net can be used to create applications. Operating system updates can also be deployed to the system via the Ethernet interface.
STTE
SES supply special-to-type test equipment (STTE) to support the development of display system applications and their in-service use. The STTE takes the form of a ruggedised PC equipped with an interface adaptor to provide to the power and signal connections required to mimic the final installation. The display unit can be subjected to stand-alone testing, such as second line testing, without the need for any additional installation or test equipment.
Display Technologies
SES utilise a number of display technologies, each with different strengths and characteristics. This diversified approach ensures that the best solution for any given display requirement is always at hand, be it environmental, visibility, cost or any combination of challenging hardware needs. Some of the display technologies available include:
LEDs are photon-emitting semiconductors that emit light of a wavelength, which varies primarily due to the choice of semiconductor materials.
Their key features are:
LEDs provide an excellent choice for status and alphanumeric indicators for applications in high/low temperatures and harsh environments. They can be formed into groups to create large colour displays and are frequently used for large screen advertising applications.
LCD uses the properties of liquid crystals in an electric field to guide light from oppositely polarized front and back display plates. The liquid crystal works as a helical director (when the driver presents the correct electric field) to guide the light through 90° from one plate through the other plate.
The key features are:
Liquid crystal Displays consume much less power than LED displays. An LCD is made with either a passive matrix or an active matrix display grid. The active matrix LCD, also known as a thin film transistor (TFT) display, has major advantages of better screen refresh time and higher brightness than the passive matrix.
LCD displays are good in applications requiring high brightness, (e.g. daylight readability), full colour, graphics or video. The displays are rugged but may require compensation for operation at temperatures less than -20°C and viewing angle constraints need to be considered when positioning the displays.
EL displays are solid-state displays, which use a phosphor to emit light in the presence of an electric field. Phosphors used are usually yellow-orange or green.
The key features are:
EL displays are widely used in military applications where temperature, ruggedness and clarity are important selection criteria.
The VFD is a vacuum tube using hot filaments to generate thermo-electrons, a grid (static display type) or multiple grids (multiplexed display type) control and diffuse the thermo-electrons, which are attracted to one or more high voltage phosphor coated anodes, which then emit light. The anodes are at the back of the display, so the emitted light passes through the grid(s) and filaments and the display front to be seen by the user. The filaments are not run hot enough to be usually visible.
The key features are:
The usual application of VFD technology is for alpha numeric and status indication. The characteristics are very similar to EL technology but VFDs can be brighter.
Organic Light Emitting Diode technology is based upon the development of organic materials to conduct electricity and emit light. The material can be deposited on glass or other flexible substrate. The choice of organic material sets the light emission colour. The display technology is expected to deliver economic products from 2004 onwards and has the potential to offer some significant advantages over other displays.
The key features are:
This technology has significant potential for applications where weight and power are critical, typically in military applications where head mount solutions are required.