Let’s face it, whatever revolution interactive displays and whiteboards were supposed to deliver hasn’t happened — and it likely never will. While great in theory, most interactive displays are expensive, difficult to maintain, and aren’t big enough for large groups.

Electronics company Interphase just launched something that could potentially jolt that tired market. Dubbed Penvue, the handheld device can turn any flat surface into an interactive display — letting organizations use existing projector and large display setups without shelling out for expensive new setups. The company is debuting Penvue this week at DEMO Spring 2012 in Santa Clara, Calif., which is co-run by our editorial partner VentureBeat.

The sleek Penvue device is shaped like a teardrop and was designed by the noted firm Frog Design. It uses a combination of Embedded Computer Vision (also used in satellite, cruise missile, and smart bomb navigation systems), inertial sensing, and sensor fusion technology to work its magic, the company tells VentureBeat.

The Penvue consists of four buttons, a scroll bar, and a toggle that switches the device between pen and mouse modes. The company boasts that Penvue has incredible accuracy from up to 40 feet away from the screen. It will retail for 66 percent less than current interactive whiteboards.

“The incumbent interactive white board manufacturers have been using the same technology for almost 20 years – they don’t want to see change,” Yoram Solomon, Ph.D, vice president and general manager of Penveu, said in a statement to VentureBeat. “We had no vested interest in the existing technology, but we had all the incentives in the world to bring new technology and disrupt this market with a much better product for a fraction of the cost of existing products in this market.”

For business and education environments, Penvue could be just what many have been waiting for. Projected screens typically offer a fairly hands-off experience, except for the occasional presentation remote or wireless mouse. If Penvue works as advertised, any screen can be brought to life for collaboration, interactive presentations, and much more.

Interphase says Penvue doesn’t require any driver or software installation and is completely platform agnostic. It can also store screenshots on internal memory (useful for when it’s used as a whiteboard).

This article first appeared on Venturebeat.com, VentureVillage’s editorial partner in Silicon Valley.