A/Prof Roberto Dillon ~ Academic Head, Science and IT / Associate Professor Information Technology

Originally from Genoa (Italy) but based in Singapore since 2005, Dr Roberto Dillon holds a PhD in Computer Engineering from the University of Genoa and a postgraduate level certificate in Cybersecurity from the Rochester Institute of Technology. He is the author of five books published by AKPeters, CRC Press and Springer, besides several book chapters and papers published in peer-reviewed conference proceedings and journals.

A speaker at the leading game industry conferences around the world (GDC in San Francisco, Game Connection in Paris, CGDC in Shanghai, GMGC in Beijing etc.) as well as at more general events (TEDx in Milan, Wired in Manila etc.), Dr. Dillon is an IEEE member with cross-disciplinary research interests spanning different areas including serious games (health, training), virtual and augmented reality, machine learning, history of technology, affective computing, behavioral analytics and cybersecurity.

In his first book, "On the Way to Fun" (AKPeters, 2010), he proposed the 6-11 Framework, a game analysis methodology that is now referenced within the game design curricula of several universities around the world.As a Principal Investigator/Researcher, he led teams in projects receiving funding for up to US$1 million while, as a software developer, he also worked on large scale, government commissioned projects.

He is currently the Academic Head for the School of Science and Technology at James Cook University Singapore where, besides leading the development of new programs including the Bachelor of Cybersecurity, he also lectures game design, project management and cyber security subjects as an Associate Professor.

While at JCU, in 2013, he also founded the first permanent Museum of Video and Computer Games in South East Asia.Before joining JCU, he was the Chair of Game Software Design and Production Department at the DigiPen Institute of Technology (part of Singapore Institute of Technology) and held different appointments in prestigious institutions such as the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore and the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm.

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Students interested in pursuing a Ph.D. related to multimedia technology or behavioral analytics/cybersecurity under my supervision are most welcome to get in touch and discuss possible opportunities. 

Teaching

• CP5047: ICT Project 2: Implementation and Commissioning (Level 5; SIN)

Interests

Research

• Formal models for game analysis and design, serious games (training, education, rehabilitation), videogame history, Behavioral Cyber Security.

Research Disciplines

• Computer vision and multimedia computation (4603)
• Cybersecurity and privacy (4604)

Socio-Economic Objectives

• education and training (1699)
• Information systems, technologies and services (2204)

Memberships

• 2019 - IEEE Member
• 2015 - ICAN (International Choice Awards Network) member

These are the most recent publications associated with this author. To see a detailed profile of all publications stored at JCU, visit ResearchOnline@JCU. Hover over Altmetrics badges to see social impact.

Journal Articles

• Thirumaran K, Chawla S, Dillon R and Sabharwal J (2021) Virtual pets want to travel: engaging visitors, creating excitement. Tourism Management Perspectives, 39.
• Dillon R and Lundberg A (2017) Vampires in video games: mythic tropes for innovative storytelling. Etropic: electronic journal of studies in the tropics, 16 (1). pp. 46-67
• Dillon R (2016) Videogames and art: comparing emotional feedback from digital and classic masterpieces. Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences, 21 (7). pp. 79-85

Books

• Dillon R (2015) Ready: a Commodore 64 retrospective. Springer, Singapore

Book Chapters

• Dillon R and Vagal V (2021) Reducing cyber risk in remote working. In: Digital Transformation in a Post-COVID World: sustainable innovation, disruption, and change. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 157-171
• Dillon R, Lothian P, Grewal S and Pereira D (2021) Cyber security: evolving threats in an ever-changing world. In: Digital Transformation in a Post-COVID World: sustainable innovation, disruption, and change. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 131-155
• Dillon R (2020) Evergreen game design principles. In: The Digital Gaming Handbook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, FL, USA, pp. 127-140
• Dillon R (2020) Analyzing games with the AGE and 6-11 frameworks. In: The Digital Gaming Handbook. CRC Press, Boca Raton, USA, pp. 3-17
• Teoh A, Kaur D, Dillon R and Hristova D (2020) Developing Gaming Instinctual Motivation Scale (GIMS): item development and pre-testing. In: Game User Experience And Player-Centered Design. International Series on Computer Entertainment and Media Technology. Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 163-182

Conference Papers

• Dillon R (2022) The u-index: an alternative metric to measure academic impact. Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Virtual Campus. In: JICV 2022: 12th International Conference on Virtual Campus, 29-30 September 2022, Arequipa, Peru
• Arushi , Dillon R and Teoh A (2021) Real-time stress detection model and voice analysis: an integrated VR based game for training public speaking skills. Proceedings of the 3rd IEEE Conference on Games. 17-20 August 2021, Copenhagen, Denmark
• Dillon R, Chawla S, Hristova D, Gobl B and Jovicic S (2020) Password policies vs. usability: when do users go "bananas"? Proceedings of the IEEE 19th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing. In: TrustCom 2020: IEEE 19th International Conference on Trust, Security and Privacy in Computing, 29 December 2020 - 1 January 2021, Guangzhou, China

More

ResearchOnline@JCU stores 29+ research outputs authored by A/Prof Roberto Dillon from 2009 onwards.

Advisory Accreditation: I can be on your Advisory Panel as a Primary or Secondary Advisor.

These Higher Degree Research projects are either current or by students who have completed their studies within the past 5 years at JCU. Linked titles show theses available within ResearchOnline@JCU.

Current

• A Study of Human Resource Training and Front-Line Service Quality through Gamification in the Hospitality Industry: Comparisons from the Hotel Sector in Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Colombo (PhD , Secondary Advisor)
• A Virtual Reality Approach to Improving Public Speaking Skills (PhD , Primary Advisor)
• Sustaining Chinese Mazu Cultural Heritage in Tourism through VR Technology: Insights from East and Southeast Asia (PhD , Secondary Advisor)