According to Pew Research Center, 64 percent of adult Americans now own a smartphone and are using it for various activities, such as researching health information, conducting online banking, looking up real estate, seeking job listings, searching for government services, gaining educational content or even submitting a job application.

This demonstrates how people have grown reliant on their mobile devices, not only to keep them connected with other people or be entertained, but also to take care of daily tasks. There’s so many things we can do on a small touchscreen device that it makes you wonder what we can do with a much larger touchscreen device.

Last year, Microsoft announced that it will be mass producing a Perceptive Pixel (PPI) display, a touch-enabled device that can go as big as 82 inches, which it purchased in 2012. The question now is, what can the world do with these giant touchscreen displays?

Whiteboard replacement

Earlier this year, Microsoft showed how a huge touchscreen display can replace your office whiteboard. Called the Surface Hub, it is designed for interactive videoconferencing that works smoothly on Windows 10. By using Surface Hub, videoconferencing no longer needs the whiteboard-projector combo usually used during meetings.

With the Surface Hub, users can pull up charts, graphs and 3D images around the screen and share files with it using a device running Windows apps. And it has Wi-Fi capabilities that allow employees to Skype into the conference.

No news yet as to how much the Surface Hub will cost, but some are estimating it at around $25,000.

Interactive menu

You now see restaurants with their staff carrying tablets around so they can easily take orders, send the orders to the kitchen and even accept payments. Imagine how interesting the dining scene would be if the table you are going to eat on can also take your order without the help of restaurant staff. You can see the full menu right on the table, choose what you like and even enter requests, such as informing the kitchen staff that you are allergic to peanuts or gluten, or you want extra croutons on your salad.

Hi-tech bulletin board

We’ve seen retail stores use interactive displays or signs to help customers find what they are looking for or help them figure out what styles best suits them. These interactive displays provide a wealth of information that can also be utilized in bulletin boards. Schools and towns have bulletin boards in place where people can pin ads, post missing pet photos, schedule meetings or even look for possible roommates. Imagine using your smartphone to post something on an interactive bulletin board. First off, it’s more environmentaly friendly, as you no longer have to print things on paper. And, second, posting things for people to see will be faster and easier.

These are just some of the possible use cases for a gigantic interactive touchscreen displays, and as our world gets more connected, we can expect more interesting uses for this type of technology.

photo credit: Interactive Maps via photopin (license)