Georgia-based Flight Display Systems (Booth 2008) came to NBAA 2014 with one goal: to innovate obsolescence away, according to company president David Gray. To do that the company released a series of cabin management systems (CMS) products at the show.

On its quest to banish the old, the tired and the outright broken, Flight Display Systems (FDS) is demonstrating a CMS Bridge controller that will work with legacy systems installed in countless business jets today. “We can go to an airplane, map the airplane’s CMS and then if the device dies our bridge CMS, with its digital controller and JetJukebox, is a relatively simple field installation,” said Gray. “The point is to get you up and running again, for just $55,000. We hope that in a bit you'll be back, and we'll replace the entire system with a modern FDS Smart CMS.”

Hot on the heels of Apple’s iWatch launch, FDS also unveiled concept prototypes of “wearables” for controlling aircraft cabin functions. “No one knows exactly how wearables can best benefit the aviation industry yet,” said Gray, “so we are exploring this area to provide our customers with the best options.”

FDS took the wraps off its first “cabin management wearable controller prototypes” here and is demonstrating these wristwatch-style devices to gather feedback from prospective customers. “The wearable cabin controller is a first in this market,” said Gray. “We’re hoping to demonstrate a cool new gadget and get feedback from our dealers and customers.”

The device contains a powerful processer with built in Wi-Fi capabilities. Combined with a Wi-Fi router and the JetJukebox, it can be used for passengers to see flight data, such as speed, altitude and ETA, at a glance. Depending on the cabin management system, it can also be used to control lights and audio/video. Attendants can use the devices for passenger communications and alerts.