Dynamic visual display

A display is a gadget that conveys images or information by sending out visible light. It can be a near-eye display or a traditional display, like one in a laptop. Displays create light according to the state of a connected control system, such as a digital state machine or an analog electronic circuit. Examples of displays include laptop screens, VR headset displays, and televisions.

A display can also be called a visual display, a dynamic visual display, or an electronic visual display.

There are two major types of display: World fixed display and head-fixed display. A world fixed display exists in the world, like a laptop, a TV, or a smartphone. A head fixed display is mounted to the head, meaning when you turn your head it stays in front of your eyes. Head fixed displays include VR headsets and the Google Glass and gadgets from Vuzix.

The most important features for a display to be useful are field of view, contrast (both static and dynamic and in color), and focal depth capability.

Common digital state machines include computers.

Traditional computer systems typically use 2D displays, which have a fixed focal depth.

Ray based gadgets are based on rays. These include heads up displays in cars.

By position

Head

VR headsets.

Eye

AR contact lens

By representation

Display gadgets can be point based, ray based, or interference based. Point and ray based displays can be studied using ray optics. Interference based displays must be examined using wave optics. Point based gadgets are based on point sources. These include laptop screens, televisions, and smartphone screens.

Interference pattern based

Interference based gadgets are also called holographic gadgets. The display gadget modulates light as in wave optics that interferes with itself and forms a pattern at some distance. This is the rarest type of device.