Flatvision Industry News

A credit card with an LCD display and built-in keyboard has been launched in Singapore by Mastercard.

The card has touch-sensitive buttons and the ability to create a “one-time password” – doing away with the need for a separate device sometimes needed to log in to online banking.

Future versions of the card could display added information such as the remaining balance.

The card will be available from January before being rolled out globally.

Many of the world’s banks require customers to log in to online banking by using a small security device to generate a one-off password.

While considerably more secure than typical static username and password log-in systems, many people find using security tokens cumbersome given the need to keep it with them in order to use online banking.

Mastercard’s interactive card aims to solve that issue.

(For full article please see: http://www.bbc.co.uk)

More reliable trains and improved infrastructure were amongst the plans outlined for the future of Scottish rail services yesterday. Transport minister Keith Brown announced £5bn investment ahead of the expiry of ScotRail’s contract in 2014.

Brown called for the new franchisee to improve services between Glasgow and Edinburgh, and pledged 100km a year of new electrification between 2014 and 2019.

£60m has been earmarked for improving journey times, and planned infrastructure projects such as the Borders Railway will also be expanded.

Operators will be expected to link trains with other forms of transport and deliver wi-fi across the network.

The next franchise will be extended to run for ten years, with a potential ‘break point’ after five. The franchise to operate the Caledonian sleeper service is expected to run for 15 years.

Anthony Smith, Passenger Focus chief executive, said: “The sooner money is spent onScotland’s railways, the sooner passengers will feel the benefits. 

(For full article please see: http://www.railtechnologymagazine.com)

We are pleased to announce the 9th Annual Military Airlift. This years event will draw together another superb panel of military subject experts in London to discuss the key issues surrounding this vital area of military capability.

High level briefings from major national and multinational airlift organisations will provide key information on strategic and tactical airlift operations, air to air refuelling/tanker operations and the acquisition requirements that they entail.

New areas of focus this year will include the investigation of preparations required for the projected withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2014.

Military Airlift 2012 will:

* Deliver programme updates on the major strategic and tactical airlift platform development projects which are currently underway including the A400m, KC-390 and many more.

* Investigate the effort to deliver effective multinational interoperable military airlift entities– with MCCE, the European Defence Agency, NAMA, Heavy Airlift Wing and European Air Transport all previously delivering briefings.

* Allow an unrivalled insight into major national military airlift organisations: operational feedback, acquisition requirements, training and doctrine will all be addressed. Previous participation has come from Royal Air Force, French Air Force and US Air Force amongst others

* Investigation of current Air Tanker developments and the increased investment in Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) platforms

(To see further details: https://www.asdevents.com)

A new air defense radar system is undergoing testing on White Sands Missile Range to ready it for later integrated testing with the Navy this fall.

The Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System, or JLENS, is an advanced radar system that is intended for use by the Army, Air Force and Navy as part of a larger air and missile defense network.

 ”In simple terms JLENS, is an elevated radar platform which is specifically designed to track and defeat land attack cruise missiles,” said Maj. Michael Fitzgerald an assistant product manager with the JLENS Product Office under Program Executive Office Missiles and Space.

The objective of the system is to provide a long range radar system that can detect small low flying targets like cruise missiles, as well as other airborne threats, so air defense systems can engage them sooner and with more accuracy.

Radar works by sending out radio waves into the air. When the waves hit something like an aircraft, they bounce off, reflecting back to the radar system and allowing the system to determine where the aircraft is. Unfortunately other objects like tall buildings, hills, and mountains can block the radar waves and disrupt or limit that radar. Cruise missiles are designed to take advantage of this limitation by flying low to the ground along routes that allow them to hide behind terrain.

“What the Aerostat allows you to do is get above the ground clutter. The whole objective of this system is to provide protection to ground assets that cannot see through mountains or other ground clutter,” said Steven Stone Raytheon’s test director for JLENS Integration at WSMR.

Using large blimp-like balloons called aerostats, JLENS seeks to counter the threat of low flying missiles and aircraft by taking a powerful surveillance radar to altitude, allowing the system to look down from heights of up to 10,000 ft. and over nearby terrain, eliminating blind spots and extending the range of the radar.

“The surveillance radar has a 360 degree capability, it kind of sees everything at once,” Fitzgerald said.

Since the elevated radar must look down to detect and track missiles and aircraft, the radar also gets back lots of data on the ground beneath the airspace it’s monitoring. For a normal radar, this would cause a lot of interference that could disrupt operations. JLENS ground station however, utilizes advanced computer systems that can filter out this ground clutter and leave the service member’s view screens with a clear image of the air they are defending.

Once a target has been located, a targeting radar system in a second aerostat can then lock onto the target and feed that data to air defense weapon systems. These systems would then be able to engage and destroy the target.

(For full article please see: http://www.asdnews.com)

From tasking to re-tasking, mission planning is the core competence that underpins air operations for our flight crews and airmen. Advances in technology have increased capability and safety in the air whilst the evolution to dynamic mission planning has been supported by the modern tools at our disposal over the last two decades.

In the 21st Century, mission planning equipment must now work in partnership with the rest of an aircraft’s avionics suite to establish air superiority. Defence against cruise missiles, managing Beyond Visual Range and Within Visual Range engagements and the ability of UAVs to cooperate with manned platforms in theatre all hinge on air mission planning capability as an essential part of the overall system.

SMi’s Air Mission Planning 2012 recognises these doctrinal facts and responds by providing the forum within which both commercial and military stakeholders can remain up-to-date with the advances that are improving safety and effect in the skies.

Topics that will be addressed at the event include: Rotary-wing ops and sharing airspace with fixed-wing assets; A400M MPS Requirements; The Challenges of Mission Planning in Sub-Saharan Africa – A Regional Perspective; Future Mission Planning Systems ; Interoperability and Standardisation in NATO.

Why should you attend this event?

* DISCUSS interoperability, data exchange and cross-domain solutions for the modern mission planner

* ASSESS the experiences of mission planners from the civil sector – what can military aviation planners learn?

* ANALYSE the latest mission planning solutions and technology on offer 

* NETWORK with a senior line up of military speakers from UK, USA, Canada, Australia, France and across the NATO Alliance 

(For further details: http://www.smi-online.co.uk)

From international incidents to natural disasters, unprecedented events have taken place around the world over the past year.

The Emergency Services Show and Conference 2012 remains the key event for anyone involved in emergency planning, response or recovery, both in the UK and abroad, to unite and address these threats and challenges.

Now in its seventh year, this firmly established show allows a key gathering of emergency and resilience professionals to discuss multi-agency collaboration, best practice, ideas and initiatives.

 From Wednesday 21 to Thursday 22 November 2012, a wide variety of professional, government and voluntary response organisations and personnel will be making their way to Stoneleigh Park, to learn about the latest equipment and innovations, network and listen to industry experts.

(For further details please see: www.fireproductsearch.com)

What better way to get people to donate blood and create awareness of the importance of blood donation than via digital signage? Internal communications within the four walls of a hospital or clinic can encourage and inspire people to give the gift of life this January through volunteer blood donation.

Every three seconds someone in the United States needs a blood transfusion, and approximately 38,000 units of red blood cells are needed every day. Trauma victims, surgical patients, and people receiving treatment for leukemia, cancer, or sickle cell disease may need blood transfusions.

Via digital signage, hospitals can bring the issue of the importance of blood donation to the forefront by letting people know what to expect when they donate, explaining the criteria for donating blood, alleviating any anxiety viewers may have and driving people to participate by communicating dates and locations. Having access to a clinically credible digital signage content library is the key to making this happen in real time, as well as being able to ensure frequent content changes throughout the month to keep messages fresh and inviting.

Video testimonials from people who have donated blood or even messages with photos from laboratory directors, chiefs of surgery or blood bank managers can speak directly to your audiences about the critical importance for continual and voluntary blood donation. If you are a hospital or other healthcare facility, get the word out via digital signage and bring people in.

(For full article please see: www.digitalsignageconnection.com)

A half-year of falling LCD TV panel prices has driven panel makers in two directions: reduce costs or increase value. In a search for higher value, panel makers are launching several new sizes, including 36.5”W, 39”W, 43”W, 48”W, and 50”W.

Meanwhile, in order to reduce cost and target emerging markets, panel makers are developing a series of new LCD TV panels that are largely differentiated by the backlight design, including direct-type LED backlights, thick backlights, and scanning backlights.

These new designs include many technical changes:

* Brightness reduction

* Reduction in LED packages

* Slim bezel border development

* T-Con (timing controller) reallocation

* Panel’s power supply unit redesign

* Thick direct-lit CCFL backlight development

* Thick direct-lit LED backlight development

The multiple backlight types, plus several new panel sizes, mean that there will be a wide array of choices of LCD TV designs in 2012. This is likely to create confusion, especially when brand recognition is added to the mix. Consumers may lose a sense of how to choose the LCD TV they want. However, this great variety in LCD TV models is the result of innovations from the LCD TV panel supply chain designed to adapt to market changes.

As a product planner for a TFT LCD manufacturer noted, it does not make sense for them to “continue to bring the latest and highest technology to the end market and sell it at continuously lower prices.” Rather, “we have to think differently and try to add value through the new sizes, as well as cost effective solutions.”

While some think that the LCD TV market is mature and will repeat the history of CRT, this product diversity has the potential to energize the market. The big question is whether end users, especially consumers in emerging markets, accept these new products.

(See full article: www.displaysearchblog.com)

Systems used to detect aircraft and ships could soon be fitted in train stations to quickly identify objects — or even people — that have fallen on the tracks, preventing serious accidents and reducing delays that are frequently caused by these mishaps.

Used in conjunction with CCTV, which can often blur or become obstructed, a radar device could quickly identify luggage items that regularly fall off station platforms and in the event of a person falling on the tracks, feedback to a system that stops oncoming trains and cuts the high voltage of the lines.

The detection system, demonstrated on January 6, in IOP Publishing’s journal Measurement Science and Technology, sends ultra wideband radio waves towards objects and then records them as they bounce back, revealing the intricate characteristics of the object in question.

“The aim of the system is to identify any objects or persons that may have fallen onto the tracks. In a large, capital city underground, this can happen two to three times a week and lead to significantly long service interruptions.

“With the possibility of trains, passengers and even poor lighting, in some instances, obscuring the view of CCTV cameras, radar techniques could certainly be effective in these scenarios,” said lead author Ali Mroué.

The researchers, from IFSTTAR and IEMN, in the framework of the Université Lille Nord de France, used an Automatic Target Recognition (ATR) procedure whereby the characteristics of an object are defined and then trimmed down so only the most important ones are stored. The characteristics are then compared to those of other objects on a database, with the overall classification depending on the degree of similarity.

(See full article: www.sciencedaily.com)