Hardware and software design of the Programmable Displayphone

• Published in: Displays Vol. 10; no. 4; pp. 211 - 214
• Main Authors: Wullert, John R., Ngo, Peter D.T.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier B.V 01.10.1989; Elsevier
• Subjects: Applied sciences; design; Exact sciences and technology; plasma display; Programmable Display-phone; Services and terminals of telecommunications; Systems, networks and services of telecommunications; Telecommunications; Telecommunications and information theory; Telephone. Videophone; touch-dialling; touch-dialling; Programmable Display-phone; plasma display; design; telecommunications
• ISSN: 0141-9382; 1872-7387
• DOI: 10.1016/0141-9382(89)90065-6

In order for future telecommunications services to be successful, they will have to be easy to use so that they do not intimidate potential customers. The Programmable Displayphone was designed, built and programmed to serve as a friendly interface between people and network services. The PDP uses the intelligence of a computer, the low profile and versatility of a graphics-capable plasma display and the convenience of touch entry, all bound together by custom, menu-driven software, to provide easy access to a host of services. These services at present include touch dialing from a large personal directory (approx 2000 entries), conference calling, call forwarding, call transfer, and call hold. Furthermore, the programmability of the PDP allows implementation of new services, for experimentation, demonstration or actual use. In this paper, the hardware design of the PDP, including its history and components, will be described. The software that gives the PDP life will also be discussed along with two applications of the PDP that have been implemented. A discussion of potential future applications of the PDP is given.