Fokker Services and GKN Aerospace to unveil SPD-Smart Electronically Dimmable Windows (EDWS)
This Week at Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, Germany.
Airlines and OEMs share the goal of improving the passenger experience, and this need has opened new horizons in cabin innovations. One such innovation is SPD-Smart Electronically Dimmable Windows (EDWs) which allow passengers, at the touch of a button, to instantly and precisely control the amount of daylight and glare coming through their window.
They continue to enjoy views by tinting their SPD-Smart EDW to control the amount of light to a comfortable level, rather than blocking their view with a shade. SPD EDW systems offer the aerospace industry a potent and unique solution to improving how passengers feel while in flight, by managing the ideal level of daylight in the cabin – as well as offering a cooler, quieter cabin.
Fokker Services, a division in the GKN Aerospace group, recognizing the unprecedented benefits SPD-Smart EDW systems deliver to aircraft cabin environments, announced today that SPD “iShade” EDWs are being added to their aftermarket product portfolio. They will showcase a variety of iShade SPD-Smart EDW concepts this week at the Aircraft Interiors Expo, including EDWs on a Boeing 737 mockup that features the Fokker and GKN Aerospace SkyView Panoramic Window. This 1.5m x 0.5m (59in x 19in) passenger window offers incomparable views while bathing the cabin interior with healthy natural daylight.
Research Frontiers Inc., the developer and licensor of SPD-Smart EDW technology, noted that this important industry first is a collaborative effort among two of its licensees. Fokker Services, a premier aircraft MRO and engineering company, is now part of GKN Aerospace, a licensee of Research Frontiers. Fokker is working closely with another Research Frontiers licensee, InspecTech Aero Service, the manufacturer and supplier of iShade SPD EDWs. As Fokker stated in their press release today, “The iShade product fits perfectly into the innovative line of retrofit solutions of Fokker to enhance aircraft interiors.”
Please see Fokker’s April 4th press release to learn more about today’s announcement.
Passenger comfort and benefits extends to all those on board the aircraft. Cabin-wide control of the amount of light and glare entering improves the flying experience for everyone, regardless of where they are seated. The management and “harvesting” of healthy daylighting instantly transforms the interior at the touch of a button, and synergistically complements other cabin systems, such as interior mood lighting systems and in-flight entertainment systems, for an unequalled passenger experience.
Aircraft windows are a primary path of other environmental elements entering an aircraft cabin through the window opening — heat and noise. These unwanted elements — cabin heat while the aircraft is at the gate or on the taxiway, and cabin noise during the entire flight — are well known to cause passengers discomfort, fatigue, jet lag and other physical and psychological ailments. SPD EDW systems provide remarkable thermal and acoustic insulation, further improving the passenger experience for all. Coupled with the superior daylight management benefits, as an integrated system it is the complete solution for managing the environmental challenges outside conditions inflict on the cabin interior.
ABOUT FOKKER TECHNOLOGIES
Fokker Technologies is a division of GKN Aerospace and a leading global aerospace specialist that develops and manufactures highly engineered advanced aircraft systems and components for aircraft manufacturers and provides integrated maintenance services and products for aircraft owners and operators. The company was founded in 1919. Headquartered in Papendrecht, the Netherlands, Fokker Technologies operates facilities in the Netherlands, Romania, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, USA, China, India and Singapore, and employs approximately 4,900 people. For the year ended 31 December 2014, reported revenue was EUR758 million (US$864 million).
ABOUT GKN AEROSPACE
GKN Aerospace is a global first tier supplier of wing, fuselage and engine structures, nacelle systems, landing gear and wiring systems, transparencies, ice protection systems and aftermarket services, with sales of GBP2.5bn (US$4.0bn) in 2015 and a global workforce of over 17,000 employees. It has a significant participation on all major aircraft programmes today and a broad customer base spanning commercial, military, business aerospace and space markets. The company’s extensive engineering capability and clear focus on targeted innovation has created technological and manufacturing leads in each of its areas of expertise.
ABOUT RESEARCH FRONTIERS INC.
Research Frontiers (NASDAQ: REFR) is the developer of SPD-Smart light-control technology which allows users to instantly, precisely and uniformly control the shading of glass or plastic, either manually or automatically. Research Frontiers has built an infrastructure of over 40 licensed companies that collectively are capable of serving the growing global demand for smart glass products in automobiles, homes, buildings, museums, aircraft and boats. For more information, please visit our website at www.SmartGlass.com, and on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube.
Source: Research Frontiers Inc.