Dear
Danny42C, the digital era is with us ... and we can sometimes keep up with it! Even back in the 70s we were sharing radar data in the Area world, and both ATC and FC expanded that capability in the subsequent decades. Swanwick (London Centre) took matters much further, and that's where Heathrow Approach now lives/works! The concept of shared radar data, from different sources and combined on-screen, is well established in the en-route world.
The concept is also rolling out in RAF Terminal ATC, with the intention of having 'Clutch' towers doing search and precision radar remoted in as required, with just a VCR at the lesser units. The LCY Visual concept is just one step further along the same sort of road.
It all seems pretty robust, from a Tech POV.
Personally, I always preferred the nuances you could gather from an analogue radar display, especially if you could fiddle with a gain control. But digital adds immense flexibility, at lower cost. When I was working on LATCC Comms at NATS in the 80's, we were going digital. That enabled ANY landline/frequency to be configured on to ANY control position with a few strokes on a keyboard. Having 'universal radar' means any task can be carried out anywhere, so tasks can be split, or combined, according to workload [or tech failure on a control console].
Having been the instigator of the Visual Simulator at Shawbury, I don't see any great intellectual difficulty in doing 'Local' from a remote location using a digital visual display. It's just a bit 'different'
Come and have a cup of tea in the Dinosaurs' Corner ...
