Data Visualization on Interactive Surfaces: A Research Agenda

Reimagining the Scientific Visualization Interaction Paradigm

“…Standards have been established in PC/desktop computing environments for many of these low-level tasks, but new mappings are needed for our envisioned novel interactive platforms. When using touch input, for example, we not only have to deal with 2D-input-to-3D-output mapping [3] but also have to be aware of modality and precision issues. In contrast to a mouse-and-keyboard setting, touch input does not provide buttons or keys that could be used to change from one type of input modality to another, e. g. to change from rotation to zooming to panning when navigating the 3D space.…”

“…On the other hand, the combined visuals and interfaces that result from this research are so new and different than what domain experts have seen before that it can be difficult to perform unbiased expert-based case study evaluations. It will be essential to develop and disseminate new methods, guidelines, and success stories for evaluations (see also [3]). …”

“…In this paper, we focus specifically on visualization that involves datasets that are inherently two-or threedimensional and their special constraints [4]-as opposed to working with more abstract data, an area for which efforts to leverage natural interaction have also recently gained traction [3,8]. For scientific visualization applications, an important argument for natural interfaces is that the physical, spatial style of input they enable can often lead to: (1) an interface with low cognitive overhead, enabling the scientist users to focus more attention on visuals and their own hypotheses as they work; and (2) new capabilities to explore complex data using rich inputs that match the richness of data (e. g., see discussion of 3D data selection techniques in Section 3).…”

Interactive Exploration of Three-Dimensional Scientific Visualizations on Large Display Surfaces

“…Recently, however, researchers have started to focus on more flexible interaction techniques that facilitate advanced exploration of scientific datasets [51]. A large part of this work has explored surface-based interaction in which (one of) the data display(s) also serves as the main space where input is provided by the interacting person or people-a topic that has received an increasing amount of attention in the recent years for visualization in general [38,39] and specifically for the exploration of 3D data [52]. Tobias Isenberg Inria, France, e-mail: tobias.isenberg@inria.fr 1 Naturally, the use of interactive surfaces inherently supports the collaboration of people, in contrast to the single-person input of traditional interaction settings based on mouse, keyboard, or dedicated 3D input devices.…”

Interactive use of simulation models for collaborative knowledge construction

“…Our solution also allows highlighting of areas via common user interfaces, such as Lizard, Google Maps, or Open Street Maps to ensure a good acceptance of the system amongst the various users. Such possibilities can be helpful for discussions by directly visualizing the impact of the suggested solutions (Isenberg, Isenberg et al 2013). The input applications can be executed on widely-used smart devices (e.g.…”