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Graph-Based Data Visualization in Virtual Reality: A Comparison of User Experiences
Abstract
Virtual reality is currently in the spotlight, attracting intense scrutiny by the press, technology companies, and consumers. After twenty years of dormancy, the technology has experienced a renaissance following advancements in both hardware and software. Most of these developments, and thus press attention, have been centered on entertainment. However, if the technology is going to continue to grow, it must be useful in a wide variety of situations. This paper explores the effectiveness of visualizing data in virtual reality in comparison to traditional presentations. In this thesis, we present an approach to displaying data in a virtual reality environment. We drew upon various visualization and design principles in two dimensions (2D) and extended and implemented them in three dimensions (3D). Finally, we experimented with animations to highlight how the immersive qualities of virtual reality could help direct the user's attention to important features. To verify our work, we tested users' ability to understand worldwide economic data represented as graphs. We measured the speed and accuracy of each subject's responses as they viewed the economic data in two environments: a virtual reality (VR) environment using the Oculus Rift to look at our 3D animated chart, and a more traditional environment with a series of 2D paper charts. We concluded that for newcomers to VR, 2D charts are faster and more accurate. However, 3D visualizations are more engaging and are superior when searching for certain kinds of information such as the highest and lowest values in a set.
... Sra and C. Schmandt, 2016). In other research work, traditional input devices such as keyboard and mouse are paired with head-mounted displays, to take advantage of stereoscopic display using a familiar interface for interaction (Sullivan, 2016). In the last few years, scientists have started to experiment and propose new approaches for applying the full suite of virtual reality technology to information visualisation. ...
... The literature contains several papers on effective visualisations using virtual reality for graph exploration, where researchers conclude that virtual reality can be leveraged to improve both readability and the user experience (A. Pachas-Baños, J. De La Cruz-Leyva and P. Shiguihara-Juárez, 2019) (Erra, Malandrino and Pepe, 2018) (Sullivan, 2016). ...
... The researchers conducted the study in order to provide an insight of expected tracking errors for similar HTC Vive setups in other work. Sullivan concluded that 3D visualisation in virtual reality can increase the user's engagement, if they are familiar with the technology (Sullivan, 2016). An evaluation into navigation techniques showed that Two handed flying was the preferred movement approach for sizeable data visualisations (Drogemuller et al., 2018). ...
Researchers in varies fields working with 3D graphs still rely on the monitor, a traditional output device, as the leading means of visualisation for a computer system. The main reason for this is the fact that researchers are accustomed to primary input devices, namely the keyboard and mouse to modify and interact with computer generated content.
The aim of this research is to create a prototype control scheme for an existing project utilising graphs for data exploration and representation in virtual reality. This paper proposes an alternative medium to visualise 3D graphs, one that allows free movement and interaction in 3D space.
A virtual reality (VR) graph interaction prototype that integrated with an existing game application making use of 3D graphs to enable visual interaction in three-dimensional space was developed. The prototype functionality enabled graph transformations using grammar operators and property modifiers. A questionnaire was distributed to participants in order to gather qualitative feedback on the prototype application after a set of tasks were completed.
The results show that it is possible to use virtual reality technology to efficiently perform data retrieval tasks using 3D graph visualisations given that training is provided to users who are unfamiliar with virtual reality.
... ACM ISBN 978-1-4503-6063-0/18/12. https://doi.org/10.1145/3283289.3283371 including prior attempts at utilizing the node-link display in a VR environment [Sullivan 2016]. Due to the recent popularity of head mounted displays (HMD) for virtual reality (VR) applications and gaming, we developed a graph visualization method in VR, and performed a user study to evaluate the effectiveness of using HMDs as a data visualization tool. ...
We present a new and novel graph visualization technique designed specifically for virtual reality (VR). Ring graphs organize graph nodes by categorical attributes along a ring that are placed in a sphere layout. Links between nodes are drawn within the rings using an edge bundling technique. This 3D placement of data takes advantage of the stereoscopic environment that VR offers. We conducted a user study that compared our ring visualization to a traditional node-based graph visualization and found that our ring graph method had higher usability, both in terms of accuracy in completing a set of tasks as well as lower task completion time.
The paper describes a method for the immersive, dynamic visualization of undirected, weighted graphs. Using the Fruchterman-Reingold method, force-directed graphs are drawn in a Virtual-Reality system. The user can walk through the data, as well as move vertices using controllers, while the network display rearranges in realtime according to Newtonian physics. In addition to the physics behind the employed method, the paper explains the most pertinent computational mechanisms for its implementation, using Unity, SteamVR, and a Virtual-Reality system such as HTC Vive (the source package is made available for download). It was found that the method allows for intuitive exploration of graphs with on the order of [Formula: see text] vertices, and that dynamic extrusion of vertices and realtime readjustment of the network structure allows for developing an intuitive understanding of the relationship of a vertex to the remainder of the network. Based on this observation, possible future developments are suggested.
Visual analytics relies heavily on two-dimensional graphical representations. Going beyond 2D is useful as we can utilize additional dimensions to present complex data sets but requires more user efforts to navigate/rotate to the appropriate views. Moreover, multidimensional visual analytics in immersed environments has not been fully explored. In this paper, we present a virtual reality model for visualizing multidimensional data in parallel coordinates, called VRParaSet. Our approach stacks polylines traveling in the similar paths between two consecutive dimensions. We anchor the lines at the vertices to reduce occlusions, offer esthetic appearance, and reveal data-based structures not evident in 2D panels or contours. The proposed model is compared to its 2D and 3D equivalences through a user study of 19 participants. The results show that the virtual reality model, while potentially useful, requires a lot of cares, especially on navigation and interaction within the virtual space.
Virtual reality (VR) simulations promote interactivity and immersion, and provide an opportunity that may help researchers gain insights from complex datasets. To explore the utility and potential of VR in graphically rendering large datasets, we have developed an application for immersive, 3-dimensional (3D) scatter plots. Developed using the Unity development environment, DataViz enables the visualization of high-dimensional data with the HTC Vive, a relatively inexpensive and modern virtual reality headset available to the general public. DataViz has the following features: (1) principal component analysis (PCA) of the dataset; (2) graphical rendering of said dataset’s 3D projection onto its first three principal components; and (3) intuitive controls and instructions for using the application. As a use case, we applied DataViz to visualize a single-cell RNA-Seq dataset. DataViz can help gain insights from complex datasets by enabling interaction with high-dimensional data.
Novel approaches are needed to reduce the high rates of childhood obesity in the developed world. While multifactorial in cause, a major factor is an increasingly sedentary lifestyle of children. Our research shows that a mixed reality system that is of interest to children can be a powerful motivator of healthy activity. We designed and constructed a mixed reality system that allowed children to exercise, play with, and train a virtual pet using their own physical activity as input. The health, happiness, and intelligence of each virtual pet grew as its associated child owner exercised more, reached goals, and interacted with their pet. We report results of a research study involving 61 children from a local summer camp that shows a large increase in recorded and observed activity, alongside observational evidence that the virtual pet was responsible for that change. These results, and the ease at which the system integrated into the camp environment, demonstrate the practical potential to impact the exercise behaviors of children with mixed reality.
A head-mounted, wide-angle, stereoscopic display system controlled by operator position, voice and gesture has been developed for use as a multipurpose interface environment. The system provides a multisensory, interactive display environment in which a user can virtually explore a 360-degree synthesized or remotely sensed environment and can viscerally interact with its components. Primary applications of the system are in telerobotics, management of large-scale integrated information systems, and human factors research. System configuration, application scenarios, and research directions are described.
This paper presents work we have done on the design and implementation of an untethered system to deliver haptic cues for use in immersive virtual environments through a body-worn garment. Our system can control a large number of body-worn vibration units, each with individually controllable vibration intensity. Several design iterations have helped us to refine the system and improve such aspects as robustness, ease of donning and doffing, weight, power consumption, cable management, and support for many different types of feedback units, such as pager motors, solenoids, and muffin fans. In addition, experience integrating the system into an advanced virtual reality system has helped define some of the design constraints for creating wearable solutions, and to further refine our implementation.
Our ability to accumulate large, complex (multivariate) data sets has far exceeded our ability to effectively process them in search of patterns, anomalies, and other interesting features. Conventional multivariate visualization techniques generally do not scale well with respect to the size of the data set. The focus of this paper is on the interactive visualization of large multivariate data sets based on a number of novel extensions to the parallel coordinates display technique. We develop a multiresolutional view of the data via hierarchical clustering, and use a variation on parallel coordinates to convey aggregation information for the resulting clusters. Users can then navigate the resulting structure until the desired focus region and level of detail is reached, using our suite of navigational and filtering tools. We describe the design and implementation of our hierarchical parallel coordinates system which is based on extending the XmdvTool system. Lastly, we show examples of the tools and techniques applied to large (hundreds of thousands of records) multivariate data sets.
Excessive pain during medical procedures is a widespread problem but is especially problematic during daily wound care of patients with severe burn injuries.
Burn patients report 35-50% reductions in procedural pain while in a distracting immersive virtual reality, and fMRI brain scans show associated reductions in pain-related brain activity during VR. VR distraction appears to be most effective for patients with the highest pain intensity levels. VR is thought to reduce pain by directing patients' attention into the virtual world, leaving less attention available to process incoming neural signals from pain receptors.
We review evidence from clinical and laboratory research studies exploring Virtual Reality analgesia, concentrating primarily on the work ongoing within our group. We briefly describe how VR pain distraction systems have been tailored to the unique needs of burn patients to date, and speculate about how VR systems could be tailored to the needs of other patient populations in the future.
This report provides a short survey of the field of virtual reality, highlighting application domains, technological requirements, and currently available solutions. The report is organized as follows: section 1 presents the background and motivation of virtual environment research and identifies typical application domain, section 2 discusses the characteristics a virtual reality system must have in order to exploit the perceptual and spatial skills of users, section 3 surveys current input/output devices for virtual reality, section 4 surveys current software approaches to support the creation of virtual reality systems, and section 5 summarizes the report.
Done properly by experienced therapists, re-exposure to memories of traumatic events via imaginal exposure therapy can lead to a reduction of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Exposure helps the patient process and habituate to memories and strong emotions associated with the traumatic event: memories and emotions they have been carefully avoiding. But many patients are unwilling or unable to self-generate and re-experience painful emotional images. The present case study describes the treatment of a survivor of the World Trade Center (WTC) attack of 9-11-01 who had developed acute PTSD. After she failed to improve with traditional imaginal exposure therapy, we sought to increase emotional engagement and treatment success using virtual reality (VR) exposure therapy. Over the course of six 1-h VR exposure therapy sessions, we gradually and systematically exposed the PTSD patient to virtual planes flying over the World Trade Center, jets crashing into the World Trade Center with animated explosions and sound effects, virtual people jumping to their deaths from the burning buildings, towers collapsing, and dust clouds. VR graded exposure therapy was successful for reducing acute PTSD symptoms. Depression and PTSD symptoms as measured by the Beck Depression Inventory and the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale indicated a large (83%) reduction in depression, and large (90%) reduction in PTSD symptoms after completing VR exposure therapy. Although case reports are scientifically inconclusive by nature, these strong preliminary results suggest that VR exposure therapy is a promising new medium for treating acute PTSD. This study may be examined in more detail at www.vrpain.com.
Haptic feedback is a crucial sensorial modality in virtual reality interactions. Haptics means both force feedback (simulating object hardness, weight, and inertia) and tactile feedback (simulatingsurface contact geometry, smoothness, slippage, and temperature) . Providingsuch sensorial data requires desk-top or portable special-purpose hardware called haptic interfaces. Modeling physical interactions involves precise collision detection, real-time force computation, and high control-loop bandwidth. This results in a large computation load which requires multi-processor parallel processing on networked computers. Applications for haptics-intensive VR simulations include CAD model design and assembly. Improved technology (wearable computers, novel actuators, haptic toolkits) will increase the use of force/tactile feedback in future VR simulations. 1 Introduction Virtual Reality has been defined as I 3 for Immersion-Interaction-Imagination [8]. The interaction component of...
This new type of surrealistically compelling virtual reality uses light-field rendering and hand-crafted stop-motion puppets to create "near-field VR". Currently, the most popular approaches for VR rendering include polygonal environments created with game engines and 360-degree spherical cameras to capture live video, which were not originally designed to leverage complex visual cues when users laterally shift viewpoints, manually interact with models, and employ stereoscopy.
To capitalize on the unique affordances that make VR so compelling, a USC research team developed a new pipeline that leverages image-based rendering techniques for capturing and rendering stop-motion animations that are rich with microgeometry and detailed surfaces. The pipeline is computationally lightweight and integrated within the Unity3D game engine, so artists can quickly create lush models that can be plugged into a traditional virtual environment running in real time. This viscerally engaging experience is further enhanced by a redirected-walking toolkit, which enables exploration of the entire menagerie in a small physical space like a living room, or even on stage in front of hundreds of computer graphics enthusiasts.
Thanks to the increasing availability of consumer head-mounted displays, educational applications of immersive VR could now reach to the general public, especially if they include gaming elements (immersive serious games). Safety education of citizens could be a particularly promising domain for immersive serious games, because people tend not to pay attention to and benefit from current safety materials. In this paper, we propose an HMD-based immersive game for educating passengers about aviation safety that allows players to experience a serious aircraft emergency with the goal of surviving it. We compare the proposed approach to a traditional aviation safety education method (the safety card) used by airlines. Unlike most studies of VR for safety knowledge acquisition, we do not focus only on assessing learning immediately after the experience but we extend our attention to knowledge retention over a longer time span. This is a fundamental requirement, because people need to retain safety procedures in order to apply them when faced with danger. A knowledge test administered before, immediately after and one week after the experimental condition showed that the immersive serious game was superior to the safety card. Moreover, subjective as well as physiological measurements employed in the study showed that the immersive serious game was more engaging and fear-arousing than the safety card, a factor that can contribute to explain the obtained superior retention, as we discuss in the paper.
Understanding perception is critical to effective visualiza- tion design. With its low cost and scalability, crowdsourcing presents an attractive option for evaluating the large design space of visualizations; however, it first requires validation. In this paper, we assess the viability of Amazon's Mechanical Turk as a platform for graphical perception experiments. We replicate previous studies of spatial encoding and luminance contrast and compare our results. We also conduct new ex- periments on rectangular area perception (as in treemaps or cartograms) and on chart size and gridline spacing. Our re- sults demonstrate that crowdsourced perception experiments are viable and contribute new insights for visualization de- sign. Lastly, we report cost and performance data from our experiments and distill recommendations for the design of crowdsourced studies.
A survey of powerful visualization techniques, from the obvious to the obscure.
A useful starting point for designing advanced graphical user interfaces is the visual information seeking Mantra: overview first, zoom and filter, then details on demand. But this is only a starting point in trying to understand the rich and varied set of information visualizations that have been proposed in recent years. The paper offers a task by data type taxonomy with seven data types (one, two, three dimensional data, temporal and multi dimensional data, and tree and network data) and seven tasks (overview, zoom, filter, details-on-demand, relate, history, and extracts)
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