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Multiple Coordinated Views (MCV) has been widely used in visualization. This work explores Multiple Coordinated Spaces (MCS), a 3D version of MCV, in order to integrate various 2D displays in a large physical environment as a unified analysis workspace. Built upon the rich background of distributed and embodied cognition, MCS supports interactive analysis in a connected, distributed set of subspaces.
We provide the formalization of MCS and a set of generation, coordination, optimization methods to support interactive analysis in a connected, distributed set of subspaces. For MCS, we have developed visualization and interactive techniques for coordinating augmented reality devices together with classical WIMP GUIs systems.
In this work, we also demonstrate the power of MCS using a multivariate, geo-spatial biodiversity application. We have also performed evaluation of how users analyze data using MCS and confirmed positive feedback for integrating physical environments. The major advantage of MCS is a flexible coordination framework for creating new immersive analytics methods by mixing visualizations from different devices, and mixing physical and virtual operations from different environments.
WIMP GUI (windows, icons, menus, pointer) restrict the design of visualization and interaction to classical desktop settings that are significantly different from the interaction that human beings perform in our everyday lives, especially our natural body, head and eye movements. The effects of natural interaction, reasoning, and cognition and their impacts on the foundation of visual analytics have remained under explored.
For our work, we propose a combination of distributed and embodied cognition and latest technologies of Augmented reality(AR) to explore new types of immersive analytics that go beyond WIMP GUI.
The motivation to use AR/MR for exploring opportunities in visual analytics and sense-making stems from key difference between conventional desktop visualization which limits the user to the size of screen and new frontiers of immersive analytics like AR which allows the user to use all the 3D around him as a canvas.
Distributed and embodied cognition theories are vital in understanding the process of sense-making. In case of AR, visualizations in the physical environment form the external representation that communicates with the internal representation of human mind for sense-making. Exploration of better connecting internal and external representation for effective sense-making is vital.
We present an approach of MCS which organizes a large physical environment with 2D displays as multiple sub-spaces and provide coordinated visualization and interaction for promoting immersive analytics. We have developed a prototype system with multiple visualization and interactive techniques supporting the coordinated analysis between different sub-spaces and devices for visualization.
A complex biodiversity application is used to demonstrate interactive exploration process my making efficient and intuitive comparisons of hundreds of species and how the species depend on various recorded environmental variables.
