Abstract
Modern virtual reality (VR) technology has garnered significant attention in the geographic visualization community for its ability to immerse users within geospatial data sets. While immersion within one-to-one models of reality offers unique and powerful perspectives from which to view spatial data, VR also allows users to transcend the physical limitations of the real world, thereby allowing them to visualize, experience, and interact with spatial data at any scale, in any virtual environment, at any time. This paper presents a collection of 3D data-driven geovisualization case studies, implemented in an immersive virtual GIScience data visualization space (IVEVA). IVEVA was purposefully designed and developed to highlight the differences in spatial data type, the challenges associated with spatial data visualization in an immersive virtual environment, and the importance of adhering to the established design heuristics of cartography, human–computer interaction, and extended reality (XR) development. Through this process, we offer our observations on how well each data type fits this medium of visualization and interpretation, and how the design heuristics play out for an immersive virtual environment that extends the practicable space in which GIScience and visual analytics are performed. Finally, we offer our perspectives, from designing and develo** this prototype, on the future for immersive interface-based GIScience.
Zusammenfassung
Moderne Virtual Reality (VR)-Technologien haben in der geographischen Visualisierungsszene große Aufmerksamkeit erregt, da sie es den Nutzerinnen und Nutzern ermöglichen in georäumliche Datensätze einzutauchen. Während das Eintauchen in Eins-zu-Eins-Modelle der Realität einzigartige und leistungsstarke Perspektiven bietet, aus denen Geodaten betrachtet werden können, ermöglicht VR den Nutzerinnen und Nutzern auch, die physischen Beschränkungen der realen Welt zu überwinden, wodurch sie raumbezogene Daten in jedem Maßstab, in jeder virtuellen Umgebung und zu jeder Zeit visualisieren, erleben und mit ihnen interagieren können. In diesem Beitrag wird eine Sammlung von Fallstudien zur datengesteuerten 3D-Geovisualisierung vorgestellt, die in einem immersiven virtuellen GIScience-Datenvisualisierungsraum (IVEVA) implementiert wurden. IVEVA wurde gezielt entworfen und entwickelt, um die Unterschiede in der Art der räumlichen Daten, die Herausforderungen, die mit der Visualisierung räumlicher Daten in einer immersiven virtuellen Umgebung verbunden sind, und die Bedeutung der Einhaltung der etablierten Design-Heuristiken der Kartographie, der Mensch-Computer-Interaktion und der Entwicklung der erweiterten Realität (XR) hervorzuheben. Im Rahmen dieses Prozesses stellen wir unsere Beobachtungen darüber vor, wie gut jeder Datentyp für dieses Medium der Visualisierung und Interpretation geeignet ist und wie sich die Design-Heuristiken auf eine immersive virtuelle Umgebung auswirken, die den praktikablen Raum erweitert, in dem GIScience und visuelle Analysen durchgeführt werden. Abschließend geben wir einen Ausblick auf die Zukunft der immersive, oberflächenbasierte Geoinformationswissenschaften, die sich aus der Konzeption und Entwicklung dieses Prototyps ergibt.
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Acknowledgements
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Portions of this research were also supported by the Mitacs Accelerate Program, in partnership with Ocean Wise, and by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR) Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence, Project 1-02-02-032.4— “Coastal Flood Risk Governance in a Changing Climate”
Funding
We acknowledge the support of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC). Portions of this research were also supported by the Mitacs Accelerate Program, in partnership with Ocean Wise, and by the Marine Environmental Observation, Prediction and Response Network (MEOPAR) Canadian Network of Centres of Excellence, Project 1-02-02–032.4— “Coastal Flood Risk Governance in a Changing Climate”.
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Lochhead, I., Hedley, N. Designing Virtual Spaces for Immersive Visual Analytics. KN J. Cartogr. Geogr. Inf. 71, 223–240 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42489-021-00087-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42489-021-00087-y