Press information
To download a text file of this release, a 250 pixel wide low-res image for web use or a 300dpi print quality image, go to www.parkfield.co.uk/igt


IGT migrates aerospace MMI lighting technology to marine applications for Queen Mary 2
Released 16 April 2004

IGT Industries is a leading developer of innovate solutions in the Man-Machine Interface (MMI) field, contributing design input at an early stage in the project and subsequently designing and manufacturing integrated systems based around the company's core expertise in control panel fabrication and sub-assembly integration.

IGT has produced the data positioning consoles and propulsion and thrust controller panels for Cunard's Queen Mary 2.  Working closely with the Alstrom design teams in France and the UK, IGT introduced the fabrication techniques it originally developed for avionic applications, an innovative illumination method of using low voltage point light sources combined with light guides integrated into the structure of the MMI unit to provide illumination and tactile response in the same key.  Total or partial keyboard illumination is a critical element of the overall design of the panel.  In low ambient light environments, the entire keyboard can be illuminated, or else selective illumination can be used to emphasise specific areas of the keyboard.  In marine applications in particular, precise control of panel illumination over a very wide range to allow for differing ambient lighting levels is extremely important; the IGT method provides precise control of the illumination levels throughout the entire assembly with tactile keys that change colour on operation as a visual confirmation that the operation has been initiated.  

In total, some eighteen different modules have been supplied, all fitted with interchangeable legends.  They are manufactured in three different shapes, giving the systems integrator considerable flexibility in configuring the final equipment into a common moulded housing.  All modules share a common interface to the rest of the equipment, enabling them to be combined as required for any specific application.

*** Ends: body copy 277 words ***

Notes to Editors.

Photograph supplied.

For further information contact:

IGT contact:		
Derek McLaughlan	
Sales & Marketing Director
IGT Industries Limited
Woodside Road
Woodside Road Industrial Estate
Eastleigh
SO50 4ET
tel: + 44 (0)23 8061 0818
fax: + 44 (0)23 8061 0828
sales@igt-industries.com
www.igt-industries.com

Agency contact:	
Nigel May	
Parkfield Communications Limited
Parkfield House
Damerham
Hants
SP6 3HQ
tel: + 44 (0)1725 518321
fax: + 44 (0)1725 518378
nigel.may@parkfield.co.uk
www.parkfield.co.uk

IGT Industries, approved to BS EN ISO 9001:2002, specialises in the design, development and manufacture of membrane switch based high technology man-machine interface units and the provision of PCB sub contract assembly services.  The company has extensive electronic design capability and manufacturing skills in the core membrane manufacturing area: close working relationships are developed with customers to provide the best solution to the particular application's requirements.