The document summarizes a presentation given at the ACM Special Interest Group on Design of Communication Conference in Seattle, Washington from October 3-5, 2012. The presentation discusses defining analog and digital qualities in interactive media, providing characteristics for developing analog-like and digital-like systems, and analyzing example projects on an analog-digital continuum. The presentation aims to help classify and develop styles of interaction between users and systems.

1. ACM Special Interest Group on Design of Communication Conference
Seattle, Washington, USA
October 3rd - 5th, 2012
UNCOVERING ANALOGNESS AND
DIGITALNESS IN INTERACTIVE
MEDIA
Jeffrey Tzu Kwan Valino Koh
Roshan Lalintha Peiris
Kening Zhu
Doros Polydorou
Ryohei Nakatsu
Friday, October 5, 2012

2. cutecenter.nus.edu.sg
Friday, October 5, 2012

3. THINGS SKIPPED
• Discussion on Embodiment and Phenomenology
• Analysis of a prototypical interface
• Some case studies
Friday, October 5, 2012

4. ANALOG AND DIGITAL
DEFINED IN PHILOSOPHY
DAVID LEWIS
has made contributions in
philosophy of language,
philosophy of mind,
metaphysics, epistemology, and
philosophical logic.
Lewis, D. (1971). Analog and Digital. Noûs , 5 (3), 321-327.
Friday, October 5, 2012

5. ANALOG AND DIGITAL
DEFINED IN PHILOSOPHY
DAVID LEWIS It’s hard!!!
has made contributions in
philosophy of language,
philosophy of mind,
metaphysics, epistemology, and
philosophical logic.
Lewis, D. (1971). Analog and Digital. Noûs , 5 (3), 321-327.
Friday, October 5, 2012

6. ANALOG AND DIGITAL DEFINED
IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
COMPUTER SCIENCE
ILLUMINATED
continues to excite and
enlighten students on the
dynamic and diverse field of
computer science.
Dale, N., Lewis, J. (2002). Computer Science Illuminated (4th ed.). USA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
Friday, October 5, 2012

7. ANALOG AND DIGITAL DEFINED
IN COMPUTER SCIENCE
COMPUTER SCIENCE
It’s easy!!!
ILLUMINATED
continues to excite and
enlighten students on the
dynamic and diverse field of
computer science.
Dale, N., Lewis, J. (2002). Computer Science Illuminated (4th ed.). USA: Jones and Bartlett Publishers, Inc.
Friday, October 5, 2012

8. DEFINING DIGITAL AND
ANALOG
a discrete signal a continuous signal
Friday, October 5, 2012

9. DEFINING DIGITALNESS AND
ANALOGNESS
a discrete interaction a continuous interaction
Friday, October 5, 2012

10. DEFINING DIGITALNESS AND
ANALOGNESS
Analog-like interfaces create a continuous experience for
both the user and the system, analogous to the actual
information it represents. Digital-like interfaces create a
discrete experience, segregating the users’ interaction
with information and the system's interaction with the user
into separate events.
Friday, October 5, 2012

11. CHARACTERISTICS FOR DEVELOPING
SYSTEMS WITH ANALOG-LIKE AND/OR
DIGITAL-LIKE INTERACTION
Friday, October 5, 2012

12. CHARACTERISTICS FOR DEVELOPING
SYSTEMS WITH ANALOG-LIKE AND/OR
DIGITAL-LIKE INTERACTION
• Analog-Like Interactive Systems: Content and Media are Singular in Embodiment
• Digital-Like Interactive Systems: Content and Media are Dichotomistic in
Embodiment
• Analog-Like Interactive Systems: Interaction is Continuous
• Digital-Like Interactive Systems: Interaction is Discreet
• Analog-Like Interactive Systems: The Interface is Intuitive
• Digital-Like Interactive Systems: The Interface is Mediated
• Hybrid-Like Interactive Systems: Fulfills Some or All of the Afore Mentioned Rules
Friday, October 5, 2012

13. ANALOG-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
CONTENT AND MEDIA ARE
SINGULAR IN EMBODIMENT
Friday, October 5, 2012

14. DIGITAL-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
CONTENT AND MEDIA ARE
DICHOTOMISTIC IN EMBODIMENT
Friday, October 5, 2012

15. ANALOG-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
INTERACTION IS CONTINUOUS
Friday, October 5, 2012

16. DIGITAL-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
INTERACTION IS DISCRETE
Friday, October 5, 2012

17. ANALOG-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
THE INTERFACE IS INTUITIVE
Friday, October 5, 2012

18. DIGITAL-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
THE INTERFACE IS MEDIATED
Friday, October 5, 2012

19. HYBRID-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
FULFILLS SOME OR ALL OF THE AFORE
MENTIONED CHARACTERISTICS
Friday, October 5, 2012

20. w00t!!!
HYBRID-LIKE INTERACTIVE SYSTEMS:
FULFILLS SOME OR ALL OF THE AFORE
MENTIONED CHARACTERISTICS
Friday, October 5, 2012

21. ANALOG-LIKE INTERACTIVE
SYSTEM: HUGGY PAJAMA
• Users must wear pajama to feel
hug transmitted over the Internet,
meaning that the content and
media cannot be separated.
• Quantum Tunneling Composite
circuits continuously sense variable
pressure exerted on the input doll.
• Air pressure recreates the hug,
also in a continuous way for the
user, using a closed-loop system.
Teh, J. K. S., Tsai, Z., Koh, J. T. K. V., & Cheok, A. D. (2012). Mobile Implementation and User Evaluation of the Huggy Pajama
System. IEEE Haptics Symposium 2012 (pp. 471-478). Vancouver, Canada: IEEE.
Friday, October 5, 2012

22. DIGITAL-LIKE INTERACTIVE
SYSTEM: POETRY MIX-UP
• Extension of existing text-messaging
paradigm by reinterpreting SMS
messages and turning them into
poetry.
• The poems are digital and
therefore can be outputted to any
number of display technologies.
• The system uses discrete steps to
receive, interpret, recreate and
display the data.
Zhu, K., Ranasinghe, N., Edirisinghe, C., Cheok, A. D., Fernando, O. N. N., & Cao, Y. Y. (2009). Poetry mix-up: the 10th muse.
ACM International Conference Proceeding Series Vol 422 (pp. 461-461).
Friday, October 5, 2012

23. HYBRID-LIKE INTERACTIVE
SYSTEM: AGE INVADERS
• Allows the elderly to play with
children in physical space.
• Parents can participate in real-
time through the Internet.
• Mixing physical reality and virtual
reality, users can perform free
and continuous play using their
body, while other users can also
interact with players on a
computer screen in virtual reality.
Khoo, E. T., & Cheok, A. D. (2006). Age Invaders: Inter-generational mixed reality family game. The International Journal of
Virtual Reality, 5(2), 45-50.
Friday, October 5, 2012

24. SUMMARY OF CASE STUDY
PROJECTS
Content & Content &
Interface is Interaction is Media are Example Media are Interaction is Interface is
Intuitive Continuous Singular in System Dichotomistic in Discrete Mediated
Embodiment Embodiment
LIVING
✓ ✓ ✓ MEDIA
HUGGY
✓ ✓ ✓ PAJAMA
POETRY
MIX-UP ✓ ✓ ✓
CONFUCIUS
COMPUTER ✓ ✓ ✓
METAZOA
✓ ✓ LUDENS ✓ ✓
AGE
✓ ✓ INVADERS ✓ ✓ ✓
ANALOG-LIKE DIGITAL-LIKE
Friday, October 5, 2012

25. ANALOGNESS-DIGITALNESS
CONTINUUM (ADC)
• study and classify all interactive systems
• used with guidelines, the ADC can be used to develop styles
of interaction and user/system relationship
Analogness Hybridness Digitalness
Friday, October 5, 2012

26. ANALOGNESS-DIGITALNESS
CONTINUUM (ADC)
Analogness Hybridness Digitalness
Friday, October 5, 2012

27. w00t!!!
• we can begin to analyze past and present interfaces and
characterize their interactivity style
• we can purposely develop bespoke interaction styles by
interpreting the AD characteristics into our inventions
Friday, October 5, 2012

28. FAIL
• WE MAKE TOO MANY ASSUMPTIONS!
• Empirical study is needed to substantiate our claims
• n00bies when it comes to usability
• ...but we think it’s important so we have to start
somewhere...
Friday, October 5, 2012

29. Friday, October 5, 2012

30. Friday, October 5, 2012

31. Friday, October 5, 2012

32. ACM Special Interest Group on Design of Communication Conference
Seattle, Washington, USA
October 3rd - 5th, 2012
THANK
YOU!
Jeffrey Tzu Kwan Valino Koh
jtkvkoh@gmail.com
http://villainous.biz/
@smallcaps
Friday, October 5, 2012