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Bitzer & Willson Invent the First Plasma Video Display (Neon Orange)

1964
This is a PLATO V display dating from 1981. When I tried to find an image of a Plato 1 display in September 2020 there was none on the web as far as I could tell. In any case, the orange display on this display is very similar to the color of the first PLATO display
Image Source: en.wikipedia.org
This is a PLATO V display dating from 1981. When I tried to find an image of a Plato 1 display in September 2020 there was none on the web as far as I could tell. In any case, the orange display on this display is very similar to the color of the first PLATO display

In 1964 Donald Bitzer, H. Gene Slottow, and Robert Willson at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invented the first plasma video display for the PLATO Computer System.

The display was monochrome neon orange and incorporated both memory and bitmapped graphics. Built by Owens-Illinois glass, the flat panels were marketed under the name "Digivue."

Timeline Themes

Human-Computer Interaction
Technology / Engineering
Imaging / Photography / Computer Vision
Graphics / Visualization / Computer Generated Imagery