IEEE VIS Publication Dataset

The explosive growth of information systems on the Internet has clearly demonstrated the need to organise, filter, and present information in ways which allow users to cope with the sheer quantities of information available. The scope for visualisation of Gopher and WWW spaces is restricted by the limitations of their respective data models. The far richer data model supported by the Hyper-G Internet information system is exploited by its Harmony client to provide a number of tightly-coupled, two- and three-dimensional visualisation and navigational facilities, which help provide location feedback and alleviate user disorientation.

The Information Visualization and Exploration Environment (NEE) is a system for automatic creation of dynamic queries applications. IVEE imports database relations and automatically creates environments holding visualizations and query devices. IVEE offers multiple visualizations such as maps and starfields, and multiple query devices, such as sliders, alphasliders, and toggles. Arbitrary graphical objects can be attached to database objects in visualizations. Multiple visualizations may be active simultaneously. Users can interactively lay out and change between types of query devices. Users may retrieve details-on-demand by clicking on visualization objects. An HTML file may be provided along with the database, specifying how details-on-demand information should be presented, allowing for presentation of multimedia information in database objects. Finally, multiple IVEE clients running on separate workstations on a network can communicate by letting one user's actions affect the visualization in an another IVEE client.

It is well known that graphical representations could be very helpful to browse in graph structured information. But this promising approach requires the capability of an automatic layout system because the tedious and time consuming task of a manual layout leads to a rejection of this approach by the user. In our approach, we split the task of retrieving information into two phases that are getting the orientation within the network and reading currently visited information. We present layout algorithms for both phases which have the benefit of being flexible and adaptable to individual user requests and ensure the topological consistency, i.e. the stability of the topology of the information layout during a sequence of display layouts. The results show that especially the possibility of an animation of the layout process can assist the user essentially in maintaining the orientation in the information network.

3D computer graphics can be extremely expressive. It is possible to display an entire securities market, like the S&P 500, on a single screen. With the correct approach to the visual design of the layout, these massive amounts of information can be quickly and easily comprehended by a human observer. By using motion and animated interaction, it is possible to use 3D as a reliable, accurate and precise decision-support tool. Information animation applications are particularly suited to the securities industry because that is where we find huge amounts of data, the value of which declines rapidly with time, and where critical decisions are being made on this data in very short periods of time. Information animation technology is an important new tool for the securities industry, where people need to be in the decision-making loop without suffering from information overload. Several examples are discussed including equity trading analytics, fixed income trading analytics and fixed-income risk viewing.

DataSpace is a system for interactive 3-D visualization and analysis of large databases. DataSpace utilizes the display space by placing panels of information, possibly generated by different visualization applications, in a 3-D graph layout, and providing continuous navigation facilities. Selective rearrangements and transparency can be used to reduce occlusion or to compare or merge a set of images (e.g. line graphs or scatter plots) that are aligned and stacked in depth. A prototype system supporting the basic 3-D graphic operations (layout, zoom, rotation, translation, transparency) has been implemented. We provide several illustrative examples of DataSpace displays taken from the current system. We present the 3-D display paradigm, describe the query, layout and rendering steps required to create a display, and discuss some performance issues.

The paper describes an implementation of a tool for visualizing and interacting with huge information hierarchies, and some preliminary empirical evaluation of the tool's efficacy. Existing systems for visualizing huge hierarchies using cone trees "break down" once the hierarchy to be displayed exceeds roughly 1000 nodes, due to increasing visual clutter. The paper describes a system called fsviz which visualizes arbitrarily large hierarchies while retaining user control. This is accomplished by augmenting cone trees with several graphical and interaction techniques: usage-based filtering, animated zooming, hand-coupled rotation, fish-eye zooming, coalescing of distant nodes, texturing, effective use of colour for depth cueing, and the applications of dynamic queries. The fsviz system also improves upon earlier cone tree visualization systems through a more elaborate node layout algorithm. This algorithm enhances the usefulness of cone tree visualization for large hierarchies by all but eliminating clutter.

Selective dynamic manipulation (SDM) is a paradigm for interacting with objects in visualizations. Its methods offer a high degree of selectivity, in choosing object sets, in the selection of interactive techniques and the properties they affect, and in the degree to which a user action affects the visualization. Our goal is to provide a flexible set of techniques and feedback mechanisms that enable users to move objects and transform their appearance to perform a variety of information analysis tasks.

Visualizations which depict entire information spaces provide context for navigation and browsing tasks; however, the limited size of the display screen makes creating effective global views difficult. We have developed a technique for displaying and navigating large information spaces. The key concept is the use of an information mural, a two-dimensional reduced representation of an entire information space that fits completely within a display window or screen. Information murals use grayscale shading and color along with anti-aliasing techniques to create a miniature version of the entire data set. By incorporating navigational capabilities, information murals become a tool that can be used as a global view along with more detailed informational displays. Information murals are utilized in our software visualization research to help depict the execution of object-oriented programs, and can also be used in more general information visualization applications.

We describe the theoretical background for AVE, an automatic visualization engine for semantic networks. We have a functional notion of aesthetics and therefore understand meaningfulness as a central issue for information visualization. This implies that the diagrams should communicate the characteristics of the data as effectively as possible. In this generative theory of diagram design, we include data characterization, systematic use of graphical means of expression and the combination of graphical means of expression. After giving a brief introduction and an application scenario we discuss these aspects in detail. Finally, a process model of an automatic visualization process is sketched and directions for further research are outlined.

We present two novel visualisation tools: the Influence Explorer and the Prosection Matrix. These were specifically created to support engineering artifact design and similar tasks in which a set of parameter values must be chosen to lead to acceptable artifact performance. These tools combine two concepts. One is the interactive and virtually immediate responsive display of data in a manner conducive to the acquisition of insight. The other, involving the precalculation of samples of artifact performance, facilitates smooth exploration and optimisation leading to a design decision. The anticipated benefits of these visualisation tools are illustrated by an example taken from electronic circuit design, in which full account must be taken of the uncertainties in parameter values arising from inevitable variations in the manufacturing process.

The paper describes an approach to IV that involves spatializing text content for enhanced visual browsing and analysis. The application arena is large text document corpora such as digital libraries, regulations and procedures, archived reports, etc. The basic idea is that text content from these sources may be transformed to a spatial representation that preserves informational characteristics from the documents. The spatial representation may then be visually browsed and analyzed in ways that avoid language processing and that reduce the analysts mental workload. The result is an interaction with text that more nearly resembles perception and action with the natural world than with the abstractions of written language.

Virtual reality can aid in designing large and complex structures such as ships, skyscrapers, factories, and aircraft. But before VR can realize this potential, we need to solve a number of problems. One of these problems: the user's need to see and interact with non-geometric information is examined. Our VR environment, RealEyes, can display large-scale and detailed geometry at reasonable frame rates (>20 Hz) allowing a user to see and navigate within a design from a first person perspective. However, much (if not most) of the information associated with a particular design has no geometric representation. This includes information such as schematics of electrical, hydraulic, and plumbing systems; information describing materials or processes; and descriptive (textual) information of other types. Many researchers have developed a wealth of techniques for presenting such data on flat-screen displays, but until recently, we have not had a means for naturally displaying such information within a VR environment. To make non-geometric data more available, we have implemented a version of Mosaic that functions within a fully immersive VR system. Our system, VRMosaic, allows a user of VR to access and display most of the data available using flat screen Mosaic. Moreover, we have made it extensible to allow for the seamless integration of specialized forms of data and interaction. This paper describes how we implemented VRMosaic using a VR-capable version of Interviews, It also describes some Mosaic-like uses of that system and some "non-Mosaic-like" extensions.

Computational steering is the ultimate goal of interactive simulation: researchers change parameters of their simulation and immediately receive feedback on the effect. We present a general and flexible graphics tool that is part of an environment for computational steering developed at CWI. It enables the researcher to interactively develop his own interface with the simulation. This interface is constructed with 3D parametrized geometric objects. The properties of the objects are parametrized to output data and input parameters of the simulation. The objects visualize the output of the simulation, while the researcher can steer the simulation by direct manipulation of the objects. Several applications of 3D computational steering are presented

We present an acceleration method for volumetric ray tracing which utilizes standard graphics hardware without compromising image accuracy. The graphics hardware is employed to identify those segments of each ray that could possibly contribute to the final image. A volumetric ray tracing algorithm is then used to compute the final image, traversing only the identified segments of the rays. This technique can be used to render volumetric isosurfaces as well as translucent volumes. In addition, this method can accelerate the traversal of shadow rays when performing recursive ray tracing

Parallel program visualization and debugging require new techniques for gathering and displaying execution trace and profile data. Interaction with the program during execution is also required to facilitate parallel debugging. We discuss the difficulties associated with runtime user/program interaction and how the data-parallel programming paradigm facilitates much more liberal runtime interaction than typical MIMD-based models. We present a model for data-parallel program visualization that addresses both data collection/interaction and visualization issues. We follow our model presentation with the design and implementation of a subset of our visualization model. We discuss our preliminary findings and propose future research directions

The paper presents an interactive approach for guiding the user's select of colormaps in visualization. PRAVDAColor, implemented as a module in the IBM Visualization Data Explorer, provides the user a selection of appropriate colormaps given the data type and spatial frequency, the user's task, and properties of the human perceptual system

The investigation of mechanisms responsible for the morphogenesis of complex biological organisms is an important area in biology. P. patens is an especially suitable plant for this research because it is a rather simple organism, facilitating its observation, yet it possesses developmental phenomena analogous to those which occur in higher plants, allowing the extrapolation of hypotheses to more complex organisms. The visualization consists of three components: biological data collection, computer-modelling (using L-systems), and model verification. The simulated developmental process is quite realistic and provides an excellent means for verifying the underlying hypotheses of morphogenesis

A software architecture is presented to integrate a database management system with data visualization. One of its primary objectives, the retention of user-data interactions, is detailed. By storing all queries over the data along with high-level descriptions of the query results and the associated visualization, the processes by which a database is explored can be analyzed. This approach can lead to important contributions in the development of user models as ÔÇ£data explorersÔÇØ, metadata models for scientific databases, intelligent assistants and data exploration services. We describe the underlying elements of this approach, specifically the visual database exploration model and the metadata objects that support the model

Modular visualization environments utilizing a data-flow execution model have become quite popular in recent years, especially those that incorporate visual programming tools. However, simplistic implementations of such an execution model are quite limited when applied to problems of realistic complexity, which negate the intuitive advantage of data-flow systems. This situation can be resolved by extending the execution model to incorporate a more complete and efficient programming infrastructure while still preserving the virtues of pure ÔÇ£data-flowÔÇØ. This approach has been used for the implementation of a general-purpose software package, IBM Visualization Data Explorer

This paper presents an analysis of progress in the use of sound as a tool in support of visualisation and gives an insight into its development and future needs. Special emphasis is given to the use of sound in scientific and engineering applications. A system developed to support surface data presentation and interaction by using sound is presented and discussed