Aim and Classification

Amongst the vast world of TUIs, the DataTiles project from Sony CSL (Computer Science Laboratory) is certainly one of the most impressive. The TUI imagined by Rekimoto, Ullmer and Oba pushes the border between the graphical and physical interfaces one step beyond. The basic idea behind DataTiles is to mix both interfaces in order to enable more complex configurations. The added value of the project lies in the flexibility of the system. Hence, where many TUIs are dedicated to a particular use-case (like the logjam TUI), the DataTiles are not bound to a single purpose.
The tokens of the system, called tiles, are somehow like physical widgets⁷. Indeed, each tile has a number of features decoupled from its genuinly meant application. Thus, the DataTiles system can be thought of as a physical framework for media related manipulations.
In particular it proposes to solve the increasing complexity of managing digital devices by providing a generic control interface integrating the functionalities of a number of digital appliances. It is worth noting at this point how similar this latter goal is to the aim of the mediaBlocks project.
Because of its flexibility, the DataTiles project can not be classified in a well defined category of TUI. The communication capabilities of the tiles makes it a good candidate for an relational TUI whereas the possible combination of various tiles makes it more a constructive system.