Systems and methods are described herein that utilize a decentralized control panel architecture to monitor or control components or (sub-)systems of an aircraft or other vehicle. A controller can be used to receive information from multiple input sources and send a command to one or more output devices based on the received information. The received information may be of different types or formats that can be read by the controller. The controller may cause a visual or physical change to an actuator based on the command. One or more control panel entities can be communicatively coupled with the controller and used to access information about one or more (sub-)systems of the vehicle and send commands where appropriate.