Displayless Interface

A displayless interface is a computer interaction system that operates without a visual display, relying instead on audio, speech, haptic, or other non-visual output modalities. These interfaces serve two overlapping user populations: individuals with visual impairments who cannot use visual displays, and sighted users in situations where a screen is unavailable or impractical (such as while driving, performing manual work, or using mobile devices eyes-free). Displayless interfaces face the challenge of conveying spatial, hierarchical, and structured information through non-visual channels, which research has shown can impose additional cognitive load compared to multimodal interfaces that include visual or tactile components.