A Semantic Time Frameworkfor Interactive Media Systems

Despite continuing advancements in computer technology, interaction with time-based media such as audio and video remain predominantly limited to the 1960s tape recorder metaphors of “play”, “pause”, “fast-forward” and “rewind”. These metaphors restrict users’ control over the timebase of the media, making it difficult to, for example, freely manipulate the tempo of an audio recording. This control is often taken for granted, for example when playing a musical instrument, or reading a book. While the technologies to build “malleable time” applications are already available, incorporating and integrating these technologies into a single interactive system remains non-trivial, and existing design tools and frameworks do not provide adequate support, especially with designing and implementing time-based interactions for digital media.