Curtiss-Wright Launches New Rugged and Reliable LCD Video Display for Airborne Surveillance

PARIS AIR SHOW 2013 – June 18, 2013 – Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions, a business group of Curtiss-Wright Controls, has introduced the newest member of its Skyquest™ family of rugged mission displays. The new Skyquest AVDU3000 is a 12.1” LCD display that provides high definition (HD) 1280x800 resolution. It features sophisticated control and video handling capabilities designed specifically for the unique demands of airborne defense and law enforcement applications, such as surveillance, patrol and search & rescue. The display delivers new levels of reliability, flexibility and quality including superior optical performance, an optically bonded screen for high reliability, and enhanced sunlight readability. The AVDU3000 is designed to speed and ease the integration of advanced video display control into airborne platforms such as rotorcraft and light fixed-wing aircraft, and other platforms that require optimal performance in harsh environments, including naval and ground station applications.

The AVDU3000 maximizes mission effectiveness by enabling operators to select one or more video streams for display from any of an aircraft’s multiple sensors or mission computers. The display is easily configured to an application’s specific needs and supports simple software configuration to define mission-specific on-screen controls. Featuring more video options and improved reliability over earlier designs, this next generation display also supports environmental sealing to IP65 and beyond.

The AVDU3000 is easily integrated into Curtiss-Wright’s Skyquest™ Video Management System (VMS), a fully featured video management system currently serving airborne critical missions on law enforcement and military platforms around the globe. With built-in network connectivity, the display’s touchscreen can be used to provide the interface for controlling a Curtiss-Wright VRD1, the industry’s leading off-the-shelf solution for high-video-count requirements, with support for video conversion, switching, recording and network streaming.

Easily connected directly to the market’s leading electro-optical turrets, or via one of Curtiss-Wright’s sophisticated video distribution units, the AVDU3000 is ready to deliver control of multiple video inputs with unmatched user control. To optimize the user experience, the display features hard bezel keys for core controls such as power and brightness. The bezel buttons are supplemented with a flexible and configurable touchscreen interface that can be user-customized for functions such as video recorder control without requiring costly hardware variants. For surveillance and navigation applications, the AVDU3000 supports optional glove-operable touchscreen control of functions such as digital moving maps. The display’s “quad screen” feature enables airborne and ground vehicle crew members to view up to four (4) live or recorded video images simultaneously.

“Airborne military and law enforcement customers demand easy -o-use-and-view rugged video displays for their critical surveillance missions,” said Lynn Bamford, senior vice president and general manager of Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions. “No other video display on the market delivers the unique combination of video inputs, optical quality, touchscreen flexibility, ruggedness and VMS integration offered by our new 12.1” Skyquest AVDU3000 display.”

Ideal for Airborne Video Management

The AVDU3000 is the latest member of Curtiss-Wright’s new generation of Skyquest high-resolution rugged mission displays. This display can operate in a standalone configuration, but reaches its full potential when integrated with a video distribution unit, as a part of the Skyquest VMS, to provide complete control over all video signals on the airborne platform.

Advanced Mission Display Features

The AVDU3000 is fitted with a full complement of the most desired mission display features, including a resistive touchscreen and a built-in heater for operation in cold climates as standard. Two (2) or four (4) video feeds can be displayed simultaneously using the display’s picture-in-picture and quad-screen capability. The display also supports multiple video inputs including HD-SDI and a day/night discrete switch for lighting mode changes.

Night Vision Goggle (NVG) filtering conforming to MIL-STD-3009 NVIS B is available as an option, in which case the display is fitted with a dual LED light source that uses white LEDs for full-color daylight operations to deliver very high brightness for sunlight readability, and NVG-filtered LED light at low levels for NVG operations.

The AVDU3000’s bezel LEDs and key backlighting are NVG filtered as standard.

Skyquest AVDU3000 Performance Features:

• 12.1” diagonal LCD, 1280x800 (16x10)Multiple analog and digital video inputs
• Durable resistive (glove-operable) touchscreen display
• Software configurable soft-buttons on screen, and assignable hard buttons on bezel
• Usable in bright sunshine through optical bonded construction and efficient backlighting
• Usable at night with lighting bus integration and an NVG-compliant mode through the use of a second set of lighting LEDs
• The AVDU3000 is the latest member of our extensive family of rugged Skyquest displays, including the recently released 17” AVDU4300, and other models ranging in size from 9” to 21.5”.

About the VRD-1

The rugged VRD1-CC video management system is a fully HD-capable turnkey solution for video format conversion, scaling and switching. These functions are complemented by video compression, recording and network distribution. As the hub of a video system, the VRD1-CC system is controlled over Ethernet from either a supplied API or a browser-based GUI.

The VRD1-CC video system supports, as standard, 18 video input channels (six [6] each of 3G-SDI, RGB/DVI, CVBS) and 12 video outputs (six [6] each of 3G-SDI, RGB/DVI). Any input can be routed to any number of available outputs as a result of high-quality format conversion and the VRD1-CC’s video switch. The number and type of video inputs and outputs and the number of compression channels can be altered in customer-specific versions permitting the VRD1-CC video system to be optimized for a very wide variety of applications.

For more information on the AVDU3000 please contact the factory.

Sales & Editorial Contacts

For editorial information regarding Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions products or services, contact John Wranovics, public relations director, Curtiss-Wright Controls, Tel: (925) 640-6402; email. [email protected].

Sales inquiries: Please forward all sales and reader service inquiries to Jerri-Lynne Charbonneau, Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions, Tel: (613) 254-5112; Fax: (613) 599-7777; e-mail: [email protected]. Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions, Tel: (978) 952-2017.

About Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions

Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions is a long established technology leader in the development of rugged electronic modules and systems for defense applications. Curtiss-Wright serves as a technology and integration partner to its customers, providing a full range of advanced, highly engineered solutions from modular open systems approaches to fully custom optimized solutions. Our unmatched capabilities and product breadth span from industry standard based COTS modules to complete electronic subsystems. The company’s modules and systems are currently deployed in a wide range of demanding defense & aerospace applications including C4ISR systems, unmanned subsystems, mission computing, fire control, turret stabilization, and recording & storage solutions. Additionally, the company’s broad engineering capabilities combine systems, software, electrical, and mechanical design expertise with comprehensive program management and a broad range of life-cycle support services. For more information visit  www.cwcdefense.com.

About Curtiss-Wright Controls, Inc.

Headquartered in Charlotte, NC, Curtiss-Wright Controls is the Controls segment of Curtiss-Wright Corporation and a leading designer and manufacturer of advanced technologies for niche actuation and drive applications, integrated sensors and controls, and electronic subsystems internationally for the aerospace, defense and industrial markets.  For more information, visit www.cwcontrols.com.

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