As a lead-up to the conference, we asked speaker Rafael "Tico" Ballagas, Senior Research Scientist at Nokia Research Center, to share some of his thoughts on the current state of the industry, and what he's most looking forward to learning more about at Interactive Displays 2011. Rafael will be presenting "Mobile Phones as Input Devices for Interactive Displays" at the conference.

In your opinion, what are the most innovative technologies for interactive displays currently in the marketplace?
The Microsoft Kinect has demonstrated amazing potential to revolutionize the way we interact with displays. Also today's mobile phones, packed with technologies such as cameras and NFC readers, are enabling exciting new interactions with displays that we are just now beginning to see come to light.

How do you think this industry will look in 10 years? Give us a futuristic view.
In 10 years, virtually every surface around us will become displays. Our walls, our desks and even our clothing will have the capacity to show us beautiful high-resolution color images at interactive frame rates. The question for us as an industry is how will we leverage these displays beyond just advertisements, to improve the quality of our lives and help us stay connected to the people and information we care about.

What presentation are you most looking forward to seeing at the conference?
Dr. Seder from General Motors' talk on augmented reality in cars has my attention.