Exploring the Potential of Physical Visualizations

Abstract

The goal of an external representation of abstract data is to provide insights and convey information about the structure of the underlying data, therefore helping people execute tasks and solve problems more effectively. Apart from the popular and well-studied digital visualization of abstract data there are other scarcely studied perceptual channels to represent data such as taste, sound or haptic. My thesis focuses on the latter and explores in which ways human knowledge and ability to sense and interact with the physical non-digital world can be used to enhance the way in which people analyze and explore abstract data. Emerging technological progress in digital fabrication allow an easy, fast and inexpensive production of physical objects. Machines such as laser cutters and 3D printers enable an accurate fabrication of physical visualizations with different form factors as well as materials. This creates, for the first time, the opportunity to study the potential of physical visualizations in a broad range.The thesis starts with the description of six prototypes of physical visualizations from static examples to digitally augmented variations to interactive artifacts. Based on these explorations, three promising areas of potential for physical visualizations were identified and investigated in more detail: perception & memorability, communication & collaboration, and motivation & self-reflection.The results of two studies in the area of information recall showed that participants who used a physical bar chart retained more information compared to the digital counterpart. Particularly facts about maximum and minimum values were be remembered more efficiently, when they were perceived from a physical visualization.Two explorative studies dealt with the potential of physical visualizations regarding communication and collaboration. The observations revealed the importance on the design and aesthetic of physical visualizations and indicated a great potential for their utilization by audiences with less interest in technology. The results also exposed the current limitations of physical visualizations, especially in contrast to their well-researched digital counterparts.In the area of motivation we present the design and evaluation of the Activity Sculptures project. We conducted a field study, in which we investigated physical visualizations of personal running activity. It was discovered that these sculptures generated curiosity and experimentation regarding the personal running behavior as well as evoked social dynamics such as discussions and competition.Based on the findings of the aforementioned studies this thesis concludes with two theoretical contributions on the design and potential of physical visualizations. On the one hand, it proposes a conceptual framework for material representations of personal data by describing a production and consumption lens. The goal is to encourage artists and designers working in the field of personal informatics to harness the interactive capabilities af...

Feeling your data: Touch and making sense of personal digital data

“…A field of research that has emerged in HCI devotes attention to the ways in which data can be rendered into 3D physical artefacts, commonly referred to as ‘data physicalisations’ or ‘physical visualisations’ (Alexander et al, 2015; Jansen et al, 2015; Stusak, 2015). This research focuses on how these data forms can support cognition, communication, learning, problem-solving and decision-making.…”

“…The idea that multisensory experiences are richer and better understood than those that tend to emphasise only the visual dimension is evident in this literature. It is argued that such artefacts facilitate knowledge of data that otherwise would not be available using such features appealing to haptic sensations as texture, stiffness, temperature and weight (Alexander et al, 2015; Jansen et al, 2015; Stusak, 2015). Stusak (2015), for example, refers to ‘haptic memory’ or the recollection of data that touching or handling data physicalisations can evoke (p. 439).…”

“…It is used to describe the physicalisation of data that goes beyond the direct representation of the data to incorporate aesthetic artistic qualities. This brings together information physicalisation with tangible user interfaces and creative art making (Stusak, 2015). Thus, for example, data artist Mitchell Whitelaw used meteorological data from his home city of Canberra, Australia, to fabricate a 'weather bracelet' that could be worn on the arm.…”

Integrated Workflows

“…To illustrate, Activity Sculptures [82] investigates the influence of physical representations on a running activity. The digital data gathered through a mobile step tracking application is being translated into 3D digital sculptures.…”

Pedagogy & Physicalization

“…The general aim of these workshops was to build an awareness of and a community around Physicalization, as a field that connects multiple and cross-disciplinary perspectives. These workshops, as well as other research [10,18] have explored the potential benefits and use scenarios for Physicalization. This proposed workshop will add to this workshop series by focusing on a relatively underexplored area: the pedagogy of Physicalization.…”