ABSTRACT
In Section 11.2, we will explain what, most likely, the next steps of display technology will be in the foreseeable future. We refrain from any predictions about displays in decades to come. We would like to reflect on the main purpose of display technology throughout the last centuries: as a tool for communication (Section 11.3). Direct communication between humans is limited to speech (or acoustic signals in a more general sense). Although visual communication (via optical signals) can be more efficient, it is indirect and requires external tools, such as print media or electronic displays. The efficiency of visual communication depends on the capabilities of these tools. Electronic displays might offer a higher information transport than print media, because displayed images can cognitively be read and interpreted more easily than abstract visuals, such as text. In both cases, our eyes and the human visual system act as a band-limited interface. If this interface is bypassed, displays as we know them might become obsolete. We will provide some facts regarding the state of the
art in brain-computer interfaces (especially those that support visual communication, such as retinal implants and neural implants) in Section 11.4, and leave speculations on their impact with respect to display technology to the reader’s imagination.
