Dataspace: A Reconfigurable Hybrid Reality Environment for Collaborative Information Analysis

Abstract

Immersive environments have gradually become standard for visualizing and analyzing large or complex datasets that would otherwise be cumbersome, if not impossible, to explore through smaller scale computing devices. However, this type of workspace often proves to possess limitations in terms of interaction, flexibility, cost and scalability. In this paper we introduce a novel immersive environment called Dataspace, which features a new combination of heterogeneous technologies and methods of interaction towards creating a better team workspace. Dataspace provides 15 high-resolution displays that can be dynamically reconfigured in space through robotic arms, a central table where information can be projected, and a unique integration with augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) headsets and other mobile devices. In particular, we contribute novel interaction methodologies to couple the physical environment with AR and VR technologies, enabling visualization of complex types of data and mitigating the scalability issues of existing immersive environments. We demonstrate through four use cases how this environment can be effectively used across different domains and reconfigured based on user requirements. Finally, we compare Dataspace with existing technologies, summarizing the trade-offs that should be considered when attempting to build better collaborative workspaces for the future.

Immersive Insights: A Hybrid Analytics System forCollaborative Exploratory Data Analysis

“…We illustrate here the procedure and results of an initial, two-part user study conducted on 12 data scientists using Immersive Insights. The goal of the first part of the study was to evaluate the contributions and limitations of immersive technologies in EDA at various levels of the virtuality continuum [57], leveraging the flexible data immersion capability of Dataspace and its virtual model [18]. Specifically, we had participants perform very specific data analysis tasks with Immersive Insights in four different Dataspace modalities ( Fig.…”

“…In fact, HMD-based Immersive Analytics [21] provide an effective solution to the high cost, complex maintenance, and scalability limits of immersive environments [61]. Millais et al [58] demonstrate the advantages of using immersion for data exploration in virtual reality, while Butscher et al [14] examine how immersive technologies can facilitate collaborative analysis to better detect clusters, trends Figure 2: Dataspace is an immersive, collaborative, and reconfigurable hybrid reality environment, combining heterogeneous technologies and mixed interaction methodologies [18]. The workspace includes 15 large high-resolution displays attached to moving robotic arms, two table projectors, and integrates AR and VR headsets, laptops and other mobile devices.…”

“…While HMDs may be convenient in performing tasks associated with spatial or multidimensional data, they can fall short in displaying statistical and abstract information, which is instead more successfully handled by 2D visualizations [8,54]. Dataspace [18] attempts to bring together the advantages of all the workspaces outlined above, combining high-resolution displays with augmented reality headsets, plus a central interactive table and integrated AI-based cognitive functionalities. Using Dataspace, Immersive Insights enables collaborative analysis of spatial datasets by allowing users to rapidly move between high-resolution statistical information (displayed on 2D screens) and 3D representations of high-dimensional data (visualized in AR).…”

“…In this work, we take a step back and ask ourselves which level of immersion a fully-fledged exploratory data analysis session would actually benefit from. To delve into this, we leveraged a Dataspace [18] hybrid reality system, a reconfigurable room-scale environment that builds on the legacy of CAVE2 and other smart workspace concepts [29,39,47,65,66], and is characterized by unique flexible data immersion capabilities. In particular, we introduce Immersive Insights, a hybrid analytics Dataspace application for collaborative exploratory data analysis.…”

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Figure 1: Immersive Insights is a collaborative, hybrid analytics system for exploratory data analysis. The application, implemented in a Dataspace environment [18], leverages multimodal interaction and combines the use of technologies such as 1) high-resolution movable screens to visualize statistical information, 2) a central projection table providing an overview of the current analysis, and 3) an augmented reality view to visualize and interact with high-dimensional data.

ABSTRACTIn the past few years, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies have experienced terrific improvements in both accessibility and hardware capabilities, encouraging the application of these devices across various domains. While researchers have demonstrated the possible advantages of AR and VR for certain data science tasks, it is still unclear how these technologies would perform in the context of exploratory data analysis (EDA) at large.

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