Page 44: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2012)

44Maritime Reporter & Engineering News INTERVIEWMARINE ELECTRONICS Hatteland Display appears to be an innovative, fast-growing company: what is your formula for success? Much of it has to do with innovation and experience. We know our market seg- ments very well and are able to develop new solutions for our system integrator customers, thus helping them innovate too. We take a partnership approach to our customers where long term coopera- tion and product lifecycle go hand in hand. Our solutions are trusted by the in-dustry players and they know that we will be in the market for many years with new products.The way that information is displayed on the bridge of a boat or ship has changeddramatically in the last 10 years. What have been the enablers of this change? Much of it has been about embracingnew technology by the maritime segment and by the classification authorities. The type approvals and classifications are ever more important with the introduc- tion of new technology into bridge sys- tems. Following that development and participating in its evolution as hardware manufacturers is important to us. Last year at Norshipping 2011 in Oslo, you introduced to the market a series of new Touch Screen Monitors, Series X. What is special or innovative about this new line?It is a new range that has allowed us to innovate again, but this time almost afresh with a clean sheet of paper. Utiliz- ing what we have learned over the years in display and computer technology forthe maritime segment, and adding the lat- est technologies, such as the latest touchscreen technologies, to our design hasbrought to life a product range that wehope will greatly enhance the user expe- rience in all areas of a ship, not to men-tion our opportunity to manufacture a modern product range for the future. The Series X in its modular design allows customers to choose from a host of op-tions that can potentially maximise yourapplication and its presentation on boarda vessel. There?s something for everyone in the series X and many customers have already seen the benefit and will stan- dardize on these new products. Finally, new production technologies has made the seriesX product range very price competitive in the market. At the time of introduction, you briefly discuss ?Projected Capacitive Touch?: What specifically does this mean? Projected Capacitive Touch or ?Multi- touch? is defined as the ability to rec- ognize two or more simultaneous touch points, very similar to what you find on the Ipad2, for example. Using projectedcapacitive technology lets us create a more intuitive form of human-device in- teraction. Touch-interface gestures, sup- ported by projected capacitive sensors, can simplify the interface and provide an intuitive user experience that goes be- yond the typical ?button replacement? found in most simple touch interfaces. Moving the active sensor area on the backside of the protection glass makes the system very durable and not sensitive to surface damages like dirt, scratches etc.What are the ?hot button? topics in the maritime display industry?There are a number of them circulating,some are technological such as widescreen displays, solid state discs and fan- less designs for computer products and ofcourse Multitouch for displays. Othersare more commercial such as lower costs of hardware. All, however, demand qual- ity, reliability and long term product life and these are all features that are embed-ded in our way of making products. How does Hattland Display invest to keep its product line fresh and innovative? The investment in innovation starts much earlier than you would think. With our supply partners we have a long term vis- ibility on what is happening in the indus-trial component industry. We keep a close eye years ahead on potential pitfalls that may threaten any of our products? life cycle, thus allowing us to take action in time to avert disruption. Moreover, by staying close to the latest developments in consumer technologies we are able toadapt relevant new innovations in this area to value adding products for the mar- itime segment. We are widely recognized to be first in our market to introduce new technologies.The world is slowly emerging from a very difficult economic period: How did Hatte- land Display hold up during these toughfinancial times? Five Minutes With Lars Skjelbred Eriksen, Hatteland (Photos courtesy Hatteland) Hatteland Display is headquartered in Norway, an innovative and fast growing player in the field of maritime monitors. Mar- itime Reporter & Engineering News recently spent some time with Lars Skjelbred Eriksen, the company?s Vice President Sales & Marketing, to discuss trends in the marine industry display market. By Greg Trauthwein MR Feb.12 # 5 (42-48):MR Template 2/7/2012 10:05 AM Page 44