Displays enter the next dimension

As display manufacturers continue to develop increasingly thinner and flatter screens, one start-up company in the US is bucking the trend. Actuality Systems, based in Massachusetts, has recently launched a full-colour "volumetric" display that brings 3D images to life. The display, which was unveiled at the Society for Information Display's International Symposium in Boston in the US at the end of May, could help air-traffic controllers to visualize the sky surrounding a busy airport or drug developers to understand complex protein structures. It could even become the ultimate computer-games companion.