Milan, Italy – May 19, 2026 – Politecnico di Milano recently hosted a guest seminar by Manuel Pilato “HMI development for the aerospace industry & introduction to VAPS-XT” as part of the Strumentazione Aeronautica course within the Master’s Degree Program in Aeronautical Engineering led by Professor Alberto Rolando.
During the session, Manuel Pilato presented the evolution of aircraft onboard interfaces and avionics technologies, highlighting the growing complexity of aerospace systems and the challenges companies face in keeping pace with innovation. He also introduced VAPS-XT, the solution developed by PACE Aerospace Engineering and Information Technology GmbH for designing and deploying advanced, certifiable cockpit displays and Human-Machine Interfaces (HMI) in a simple and intuitive way.
The lecture focused on how modern development platforms are transforming software creation in the aerospace industry. Students were shown that developing sophisticated onboard software no longer requires deep programming expertise, thanks to next-generation tools capable of generating software automatically and streamlining the design process.
Manuel Pilato is part of PACE’s HMI & Embedded Graphics team, which develops a range of innovative digital solutions for the aerospace and defence sectors, also supporting the creation of advanced avionics displays and embedded systems for next-generation aircraft.
Commenting on the initiative, Andrea Bassi, Head of HMI and Embedded Graphics at PACE emphasized the company’s commitment to education and talent development:
“At PACE, we strongly believe that education is a key driver of innovation. Initiatives like this allow students to engage directly with real-world industry challenges and better understand the technologies shaping the future of aerospace.” He also highlighted PACE’s student engagement initiatives, including the PACE Future Innovators Awards contest, organized in partnership with EUROAVIA. The competition, in 2025, challenged future engineers to design an HMI for large-screen cockpits to reduce pilot workload and enable solo operations, offering students a unique opportunity to apply their skills to real-world aerospace challenges.
Through these initiatives, PACE continues to foster innovation, inspire future engineers, and support the next generation of aerospace professionals through close collaboration with academic institutions.
About PACE:
PACE, a subsidiary of TXT e-solutions, is an international, specialized provider of engineering software solutions that support customers in high-tech markets throughout their mission- and business-critical processes and their product lifecycles. PACE develops innovative, highly usable software products that have helped to design, market and operate a significant portion of the world’s aircraft for more than three decades. Major areas of applications are: Preliminary aircraft and systems design, HMI & Embedded Graphics, Product configuration, Aircraft analysis and evaluation, Fuel and operational efficiency management, XR and AI based Training. Extensive customer base includes the world’s top aircraft and engine manufacturers, civil and military operators,maintenance service providers and research institutions.