Boeing selected Rockwell Collins to provide touch screen flight displays for all five flight deck displays on the new Boeing 777X. The touchscreen capability aims to make the flight deck more intuitive for pilots and more efficient for flight operations.

The deal between the two companies marks one of the first times a commercial transport aircraft will be equipped with touch screen forward flight displays.

The 777X touchscreen flight displays will be multi-touch, meaning that two pilots can touch the same screen at the same time. The touch screens will use what Rockwell Collins calls resistive technology, meaning that the screens can distinguish a light touch from a firm touch. That way pilots can avoid unintentional interaction with the displays. The touch screen bezel will also provide bracing features for operation during turbulence.

Kent Statler, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Rockwell Collins’ Commercial Systems division, says a touch-controlled flight deck environment makes it easier for pilots to manage information and do their jobs, and speeds up the process to complete tasks.

The Boeing 777X is a new series of the Boeing 777 family. The plane will have two variants, the 777-8 and the 777-9. The 777X will feature new engines, new composite wings with folding wingtips, and technologies adopted from the Boeing 787. Boeing says it has 300 orders and commitments for the 777X, with initial deliveries planned for 2020.

Based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rockwell Collins makes flight displays for the aerospace and defense industry and was among the first to certify touch screen primary flight displays for commercial aviation on a business aircraft platform.

A number of the company’s others technologies are slated to be on the Boeing 777X, including the integrated surveillance system with MultiScan weather radar, select flight controls, Avionics Gateway secure server router and optional dual Head-up Guidance System. Apart from the 777X, Rockwell Collins display technologies will also appear on Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, 737 MAX, and the 747-8, with the goal being to achieve a common graphical foundation across platforms.