Devices for display and interaction

Devices for interaction - displays, input sensors, and communications mechanisms - are central elements of future computing. However, we tend to think of computing systems in terms of speed and storage and seldom in terms of interactive performance. This will change as computing systems are repartitioned into components with which we interface more closely and more richly. This review addresses the physical properties of interface devices. It attempts to put real numbers on such variables as bandwidth, range and power consumption, while ignoring cost and size, to better understand just how universal various classes of device can be. Wherever possible it attempts to identify levels of performance which will effect a qualitative change in how computers serve users.