A Time Model for Time‐Varying Visualization

Abstract

The analysis of unsteady phenomena is an important topic for scientific visualization. Several time-dependent visualization techniques exist, as well as solutions for dealing with the enormous size of time-varying data in interactive visualization. Many current visualization toolkits support displaying time-varying data sets. However, for the interactive exploration of time-varying data in scientific visualization, no common time model that describes the temporal properties which occur in the visualization process has been established. In this work, we propose a general time model which classifies the time frames of simulation phenomena and the connections between different time scales in the analysis process. This model is designed for intuitive interaction with time in visualizationapplications for the domain expert as well as for the developer of visualization tools. We demonstrate the benefits of our model by applying it to two use cases with different temporal properties.

Time and Time-Oriented Data

“…time perspective of a fact denotes when it was stored in the database (e.g., the birth of Vincent is stored in the register of residents after filling out a form two days after his birth). In practice, it is often necessary to condense multiple perspectives into a single consistent view of time (see for example Wolter et al, 2009). Both branching time and multiple perspectives introduce the need to deal with probability (or uncertainty), to convey, for example, which path through time will most likely be taken, or which evidence is believable.…”

Analysis of Long Molecular Dynamics Simulations Using Interactive Focus+Context Visualization

“…While focus+context in static visualizations is a well‐known concept, changing the temporal resolution of a dynamic visualization is not very commonly used. As a notable exception, Wolter et al [WAH*09] present a visualization of nasal airflow, where they first show an overview of the simulation in a coarse temporal resolution. The user can then select intervals of interest to generate visualizations with a higher temporal resolution so see more detailed dynamics.…”

VISIONAIR - VISION Advanced Infrastructure for Research

“…In addition, they will be offered the help of the Virtual Reality Group's visualisation experts who have established a long standing track record of successful, interdisciplinary cooperations [7]. Consequently, visitors will be able to produce interactive, immersive visualisations based on complex, large datasets, where a particular focus lies on the interactive exploration of time-varying data [8].…”