ID :
125629
Wed, 06/02/2010 - 14:23
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/125629
The shortlink copeid
787 DREAMLINER WINDOWS OFFER NEW LEVEL OF CONTROL
KUALA LUMPUR, June 2 (Bernama) -- With the touch of a button, passengers on Boeing's new 787 Dreamliner, can adjust the amount of outside light streaming into the cabin.
Instead of raising a solid window shade that cuts off both light and view,
passengers will have a controller to lighten or darken the window.
Even when the window is fully dark, passengers will be able to see the world
passing by, Boeing said in a statement from Seattle.
"Passengers will have more control over what they see outside," said Ali
Mawani, one of the Boeing systems engineers, testing the software in a
Seattle lab to ensure it works just as designed when the 787 enters commercial
service.
Boeing teamed up with PPG Aerospace and Gentex Corporation to provide this
new window to the world.
Aside from its size - 19 inches tall and 65 per cent larger than the
industry standard - the window has a layer of gel (about the thickness of a
pencil lead) sandwiched between two thin pieces of glass.
When an electric current is applied to the gel, it causes a chemical
reaction and begins to darken.
"Electrodes will be placed on the side of the windows," said Sean
Sullivan, the Senior Manager of the 787 cabin systems.
"They will be hidden from view of the passenger. That's how we apply the
current across the gel from one side of the window to the other," he explained.
The windows are all networked, so flight attendants will also have a
new level of control.
From a computer panel, the crew can control an individual window, a section
or all of the windows.
For example, attendants may want to darken the windows when the cabin
lighting system is set to "night", or clear all windows when the plane arrives
at its destination in the morning.
Sullivan and his team are trying to anticipate issues that might arise
once the planes are in commercial service.
Engineers are subjecting the windows and the controllers through all kinds
of computer-generated scenarios, such as a power interrupt.
"We simulate airplane behavior. We're testing to find out what can go
wrong," said Boeing Systems Engineer Diana Bonilla.
Going forward, the engineers are also trying to figure out if they can add
even more functionality to the system, such as adding flight data to automate
the windows.
"For instance, if you're landing or below 10,000 feet, you want the window
clear.
"If the windows can be automated by just sensing the aircraft's altitude, it
makes it that much easier on the attendant," Mawani said.
It is also one less step, and one more innovative feature on the 787
Dreamliner.
-- BERNAMA
Instead of raising a solid window shade that cuts off both light and view,
passengers will have a controller to lighten or darken the window.
Even when the window is fully dark, passengers will be able to see the world
passing by, Boeing said in a statement from Seattle.
"Passengers will have more control over what they see outside," said Ali
Mawani, one of the Boeing systems engineers, testing the software in a
Seattle lab to ensure it works just as designed when the 787 enters commercial
service.
Boeing teamed up with PPG Aerospace and Gentex Corporation to provide this
new window to the world.
Aside from its size - 19 inches tall and 65 per cent larger than the
industry standard - the window has a layer of gel (about the thickness of a
pencil lead) sandwiched between two thin pieces of glass.
When an electric current is applied to the gel, it causes a chemical
reaction and begins to darken.
"Electrodes will be placed on the side of the windows," said Sean
Sullivan, the Senior Manager of the 787 cabin systems.
"They will be hidden from view of the passenger. That's how we apply the
current across the gel from one side of the window to the other," he explained.
The windows are all networked, so flight attendants will also have a
new level of control.
From a computer panel, the crew can control an individual window, a section
or all of the windows.
For example, attendants may want to darken the windows when the cabin
lighting system is set to "night", or clear all windows when the plane arrives
at its destination in the morning.
Sullivan and his team are trying to anticipate issues that might arise
once the planes are in commercial service.
Engineers are subjecting the windows and the controllers through all kinds
of computer-generated scenarios, such as a power interrupt.
"We simulate airplane behavior. We're testing to find out what can go
wrong," said Boeing Systems Engineer Diana Bonilla.
Going forward, the engineers are also trying to figure out if they can add
even more functionality to the system, such as adding flight data to automate
the windows.
"For instance, if you're landing or below 10,000 feet, you want the window
clear.
"If the windows can be automated by just sensing the aircraft's altitude, it
makes it that much easier on the attendant," Mawani said.
It is also one less step, and one more innovative feature on the 787
Dreamliner.
-- BERNAMA
