Kim Marriott

Monash University (Australia) · Clayton School of Information Technology

User trust plays a key role in determining whether autonomous computer applications are relied upon. It will play a key role in the acceptance of emerging AI applications such as optimisation. Two important factors known to affect trust are system transparency, i.e. how well the user understands how the system works, and system performance. However...

Data visualisations are increasingly used online to engage readers and enable independent analysis of the data underlying news stories. However, access to such infographics is problematic for readers who are blind or have low vision (BLV). Equitable access to information is a basic human right and essential for independence and inclusion. We introd...

There are many methods for projecting spherical maps onto the plane. Interactive versions of these projections allow the user to centre the region of interest. However, the effects of such interaction have not previously been evaluated. In a study with 120 participants we find interaction provides significantly more accurate area, direction and dis...

In this paper, we report on a study of visual representations for cyclical data and the effect of interactively wrapping a bar chart 'around its boundaries'. Compared to linear bar chart, polar (or radial) visualisations have the advantage that cyclical data can be presented continuously without mentally bridging the visual 'cut' across the left-an...

We explore network visualisation on a two-dimensional torus topology that continuously wraps when the viewport is panned. That is, links may be “wrapped” across the boundary, allowing additional spreading of node positions to reduce visual clutter. Recent work has investigated such pannable wrapped visualisations, finding them not worse than unwrap...

We argue that visualization research has overwhelmingly focused on users from the economically developed world. However, billions of people around the world are rapidly emerging as new users of information technology. Most of the next billion users of visualization technologies will come from parts of the world that are extremely populous but histo...

This paper presents a systematic literature review of 292 publications from 97 unique venues on touch-based graphics for people who are blind or have low vision, from 2010 to mid-2020. It is the first review of its kind on touch-based accessible graphics. It is timely because it allows us to assess the impact of new technologies such as commodity 3...

We explore network visualisation on a two-dimensional torus topology that continuously wraps when the viewport is panned. That is, links may be “wrapped” across the boundary, allowing additional spreading of node positions to reduce visual clutter. Recent work has investigated such pannable wrapped visualisations, finding them not worse than unwrap...

Node-link diagrams are widely used to visualise networks. However, even the best network layout algorithms ultimately result in ’hairball’ visualisations when the graph reaches a certain degree of complexity, requiring simplification through aggregation or interaction (such as filtering) to remain usable. Until now, there has been little data to in...

This article reviews two decades of research in topics in Information Visualisation emerging from the Data Visualisation and Immersive Analytics Lab at Monash University Australia (Monash IA Lab). The lab has been influential with contributions in algorithms, interaction techniques and experimental results in Network Visualisation, Interactive Opti...

We present a generic model for providing blind and severely vision-impaired readers with access to online information graphics. The model supports fully and semi-automatic transcription and allows the reader a choice of presentation mediums. We evaluate the model through a case study: online house floor plans. To do so, we conducted a formative use...

Efficient optimisation algorithms have become important tools for finding high-quality solutions to hard, real-world problems such as production scheduling, timetabling, or vehicle routing. These algorithms are typically “black boxes” that work on mathematical models of the problem to solve. However, many problems are difficult to fully specify, an...

Abstract data has no natural scale and so interactive data visualizations must provide techniques to allow the user to choose their viewpoint and scale. Such techniques are well established in desktop visualization tools. The two most common techniques are zoom+pan and overview+detail. However, how best to enable the analyst to navigate and view ab...

Efficient optimisation algorithms have become important tools for finding high-quality solutions to hard, real-world problems such as production scheduling, timetabling, or vehicle routing. These algorithms are typically "black boxes" that work on mathematical models of the problem to solve. However, many problems are difficult to fully specify, an...

data has no natural scale and so interactive data visualizations must provide techniques to allow the user to choose their viewpoint and scale. Such techniques are well established in desktop visualization tools. The two most common techniques are zoom+pan and overview+detail. However, how best to enable the analyst to navigate and view abstract da...

We introduce Tilt Map, a novel interaction technique for intuitively transitioning between 2D and 3D map visualisations in immersive environments. Our focus is visualising data associated with areal features on maps, for example, population density by state. Tilt Map transitions from 2D choropleth maps to 3D prism maps to 2D bar charts to overcome...

Visualisations are commonly used to understand social, biological and other kinds of networks. Currently we do not know how to effectively present network data to people who are blind or have low-vision (BLV). We ran a controlled study with 8 BLV participants comparing four tactile representations: organic node-link diagram, grid node-link diagram,...

Visualisations are commonly used to understand social, biological and other kinds of networks. Currently, we do not know how to effectively present network data to people who are blind or have low-vision (BLV). We ran a controlled study with 8 BLV participants comparing four tactile representations: organic node-link diagram, grid node-link diagram...

We investigate visualisations of networks on a 2-dimensional torus topology, like an opened-up and flattened doughnut. That is, the network is drawn on a rectangular area while “wrapping” specific links around the border. Previous work on torus drawings of networks has been mostly theoretical, limited to certain classes of networks, and not evaluat...

The visualization research community can and should reach broader audiences beyond data-savvy groups of people, because these audiences could also greatly benefit from visual access to data. In this article, we discuss four research topics—personal data visualization, data visualization on mobile devices, inclusive data visualization, and multimoda...

Access to information is a fundamental problem for people with vision impairment (PVI). Textual information are considerably more accessible with the use of screen readers that work on desktop and mobile devices. However, access to graphical information is still a challenging problem. There are different technologies to present graphics to PVI, but...

Providing people who are blind or have low vision with accessible versions of artworks is important not just for equity, but also for inclusion, greater engagement with the community at large, and raising awareness about these issues. In 2018, a value-sensitive design methodology was used with the Bendigo Art Gallery and key stakeholders to develop...

The difficulty and consequent fear of travel is one of the most disabling consequences of blindness and severe vision impairment, affecting confidence and quality of life. Traditional tactile graphics are vital in the Orientation and Mobility training process, however 3D printing may have the capacity to enable production of more meaningful and inc...

Immersive analytics turns the very space surrounding the user into a canvas for data analysis, supporting human cognitive abilities in myriad ways. We present the results of a design study, contextual inquiry, and longitudinal evaluation involving professional economists using a Virtual Reality (VR) system for multidimensional visualization to expl...

We have compared three common visualisations for hierarchical quantitative data, treemaps, icicle plots and sunburst charts as well as a semicircular variant of sunburst charts we call the sundown chart. In a pilot study, we found that the sunburst chart was least preferred. In a controlled study with 12 participants, we compared treemaps, icicle p...

Immersive analytics turns the very space surrounding the user into a canvas for data analysis, supporting human cognitive abilities in myriad ways. We present the results of a design study, contextual inquiry, and longitudinal evaluation involving professional economists using a Virtual Reality (VR) system for multidimensional visualization to expl...

We have compared three common visualisations for hierarchical quantitative data, treemaps, icicle plots and sunburst charts as well as a semicircular variant of sunburst charts we call the sundown chart. In a pilot study, we found that the sunburst chart was least preferred. In a controlled study with 12 participants, we compared treemaps, icicle p...

Immersive analytics is a recent research initiative growing out of the fields of data visualization, human–computer interaction, AR/VR, and computer graphics among others. This special issue presents recent work in the field including the introduction of novel immersive visualization concepts and techniques for different types of data and a critica...

While there is widespread recognition of the need to provide people with vision impairments (PVI) equitable access to cultural institutions such as art galleries, this is not easy. We present the results of a collaboration with a regional art gallery who wished to open their collection to PVIs in the local community. We describe a novel model that...

We introduce IATK, the Immersive Analytics Toolkit, a software package for Unity that allows interactive authoring and exploration of data visualisation in immersive environments. The design of IATK was informed by interdisciplinary expert-collaborations as well as visual analytics applications and iterative refinement over several years. IATK allo...

With the massive growth of online learning, there has been a decrease in students' face-to-face interactions, leading to rising feelings of isolation. This in turn contributes to several issues such as motivation loss, increased course attrition rates and poor learning experiences. Strong Online Learning Communities (OLCs) have been suggested as a...

The Smartly-assembled Wiki-style Argument Marshalling project (SWARM) commenced in 2017 as part of the US Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) funded Crowdsourcing Evidence, Argumentation, Thinking and Evaluation (CREATE) Program. The SWARM project has developed an online platform allowing groups to produce evidence-based reason...

Immersive Analytics is a new research initiative that aims to remove barriers between people, their data and the tools they use for analysis and decision making. Here we clarify the aims of immersive analytics research, its opportunities and historical context, as well as providing a broad research agenda for the field. In addition, we review how t...

While visual cues are traditionally used for visual analytics, multimodal interaction technologies offer many new possibilities. This chapter explores the opportunities and challenges for developers and users to utilize and represent data through non-visual sensory channels to help them understand and interact with data. Users are able to experienc...

Immersive virtual- and augmented-reality headsets can overlay a flat image against any surface or hang virtual objects in the space around the user. The technology is rapidly improving and may, in the long term, replace traditional flat panel displays in many situations. When displays are no longer intrinsically flat, how should we use the space ar...

This paper explores different ways to render world-wide geographic maps in virtual reality (VR). We compare: (a) a 3D exocentric globe, where the user’s viewpoint is outside the globe; (b) a flat map (rendered to a plane in VR); (c) an egocentric 3D globe, with the viewpoint inside the globe; and (d) a curved map, created by projecting the map onto...

Tactile maps are widely used in Orientation and Mobility (O&M) training for people with blindness and severe vision impairment. Commodity 3D printers now offer an alternative way to present accessible graphics, however it is unclear if 3D models offer advantages over tactile equivalents for 2D graphics such as maps. In a controlled study with 16 to...

Modern virtual reality display technologies engender spatial immersion by using a variety of depth cues such as perspective and head-tracked binocular presentation to create visually realistic 3D worlds. While 3D visualisations are common in scientific visualisation, they are much less common in information visualisation. In this chapter we explore...

We present an initial design framework for immersive analytics based on Brehmer and Munzner’s “What-Why-How” data visualisation framework. We extend their framework to take into account Who are the people or teams of people who are going to use the system, and Where is the system to be used and what are the available devices and technology. In addi...

Immersive Analytics is a new research initiative that aims to remove barriers between people, their data and the tools they use for analysis and decision making. Here the aims of immersive analytics research are clarified, its opportunities and historical context, as well as providing a broad research agenda for the field. In addition, it is review...

This paper presents a context-aware design pattern for situated analytics called Blended Model View Controller. Our approach is an event-driven design, allowing a seamless transition between the physical space and information space during use. The Blended Model View Controller allows common user interface controls to work in tandem with printed inf...

We introduce ImAxes, an immersive system for exploring multivariate data using fluid, modeless interaction. The basic interface element is an embodied data axis. The user can manipulate these axes like physical objects in the immersive environment and combine them into sophisticated visualisa-tions. The type of visualisation that appears depends on...

The emerging field of Immersive Analytics investigates how novel display and interaction technologies can enable people to better explore and analyse data and complex information. Collaboration is a crucial aspect of Immersive Analytics. In this paper we present ContextuWall, a system for interactive local and remote collaboration using touch and m...

Libraries are increasingly offering on-line digital access to their collections. However, traditional search-based interfaces are restrictive and do not encourage the user to explore the collection in the same way that a physical collection does. We present the Mitchell WordCloud, a novel on-line interface to the David Scott Mitchell collection of...

The fields of operations research and computer science have long sought to find automatic solver techniques that can find high-quality solutions to difficult real-world optimisation problems. The traditional workflow is to exactly model the problem and then enter this model into a general-purpose “black-box” solver. In practice, however, many probl...

We explore the relative merits of matrix, node-link and combined side-by-side views for the visualisation of weighted networks with three controlled studies: (1) finding the most effective visual encoding for weighted edges in matrix representations; (2) comparing matrix, node-link and combined views for static weighted networks; and (3) comparing...

The Web and digital media require documents whose appearance and content adapt to the viewing context and to user interaction. While most previous research has focussed on adaptation for textual and multimedia content, this is also true for diagrammatic content. We (a) identify the reasons for adaptation and the different kinds of adaptation that m...

Showing flows of people and resources between multiple geographic locations is a challenging visualisation problem. We conducted two quantitative user studies to evaluate different visual representations for such dense many-to-many flows. In our first study we compared a bundled node-link flow map representation and OD Maps with a new visualisation...

In this paper, we investigate Confluent Drawings (CD), a technique for bundling edges in node-link diagrams based on network connectivity. Edge-bundling techniques are designed to reduce edge clutter in node-link diagrams by coalescing lines into common paths or bundles. Unfortunately, traditional bundling techniques introduce ambiguity since edges...

Information graphics such as plots, maps, plans, charts, tables and diagrams form an integral part of the student learning experience in many disciplines. However, for a vision impaired student accessing such graphical materials can be problematic. This research seeks to understand the current state of accessible graphics provision in Australian hi...

We present a new approach for providing mathematical and statistical graphics to people who are blind or have severe vision impairment and describe the implementation and initial evaluation of an accessible graphing calculator, GraCALC. GraCALC automatically creates a graphic from a specification of the function or a tabular data using a web based...

Immersive Analytics is an emerging research thrust investigating how new interaction and display technologies can be used to support analytical reasoning and decision making. The aim is to provide multi-sensory interfaces that support collaboration and allow users to immerse themselves in their data in a way that supports real-world analytics tasks...

Prior research into network layout has focused on fast heuristic techniques for layout of large networks, or complex multi-stage pipelines for higher quality layout of small graphs. Improvements to these pipeline techniques, especially for orthogonal-style layout, are difficult and practical results have been slight in recent years. Yet, as discuss...

Over the last 50 years a wide variety of automatic network layout algorithms have been developed. Some are fast heuristic techniques suitable for networks with hundreds of thousands of nodes while others are multi-stage frameworks for higher-quality layout of smaller networks. However, despite decades of research currently no algorithm produces lay...

Paper is still the dominant medium in academic reading. One reason is the ease of navigation within a paper document. We therefore investigate how to provide a more paper-like navigation within an academic document when read digitally. We present the results of a user study in which we compare the standard single-view hyperlink navigation with a sp...

We present a new model for presenting graphics in eBooks to blind readers. It is based on the GraViewer app which allows an accessible graphic embedded in an iBook to be explored on an iPad using speech and non-speech audio feedback. We also introduce a web-based tool, GraAuthor, for creating such accessible graphics and describe the workflow for i...

Document content is increasingly customised to a particular audience. Such customised documents are typically built by combining content from selected logical content modules and then editing this to create the custom document. A major difficulty is how to efficiently update these derived documents when the source documents are changed. Here we des...

Better access to on-line information graphics is a pressing need for people who are blind or have severe vision impairment. We present a new model for accessible presentation of on-line information graphics and demonstrate its use for presenting floor plans. While floor plans are increasingly provided on-line, people who are blind are at best provi...