Virtual environments for geographic visualization

MacEachren, Alan M.; Edsall, Robert M.; Haug, D.; Baxter, Ryan E.; Otto, G.; Masters, Raymon; Fuhrmann, Sven; Qian, Liujian

doi:10.1145/331770.331781

Cited by 74 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 24 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…VEs differ from other types of 3D, as they mimic reality and are typically designed to be highly immersive, have high information intensity (realism), high interactivity and often feature intelligent objects (MacEachren et al, 1999). However, by definition, VEs feature 3D visualizations in them.…”

Section: D Visualization Types: Not All Are Created Equalmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Usability and Usefulness of 3d (Geo)visualizations – A Focus on Virtual Reality Environments

Çöltekin

Lokka

Zahner

2016

Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

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ABSTRACT:Whether and when should we show data in 3D is an on-going debate in communities conducting visualization research. A strong opposition exists in the information visualization (Infovis) community, and seemingly unnecessary/unwarranted use of 3D, e.g., in plots, bar or pie charts, is heavily criticized. The scientific visualization (Scivis) community, on the other hand, is more supportive of the use of 3D as it allows 'seeing' invisible phenomena, or designing and printing things that are used in e.g., surgeries, educational settings etc. Geographic visualization (Geovis) stands between the Infovis and Scivis communities. In geographic information science, most visuo-spatial analyses have been sufficiently conducted in 2D or 2.5D, including analyses related to terrain and much of the urban phenomena. On the other hand, there has always been a strong interest in 3D, with similar motivations as in Scivis community. Among many types of 3D visualizations, a popular one that is exploited both for visual analysis and visualization is the highly realistic (geo)virtual environments. Such environments may be engaging and memorable for the viewers because they offer highly immersive experiences. However, it is not yet well-established if we should opt to show the data in 3D; and if yes, a) what type of 3D we should use, b) for what task types, and c) for whom. In this paper, we identify some of the central arguments for and against the use of 3D visualizations around these three considerations in a concise interdisciplinary literature review.

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Section: D Visualization Types: Not All Are Created Equalmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the Usability and Usefulness of 3d (Geo)visualizations – A Focus on Virtual Reality Environments

Çöltekin

Lokka

Zahner

2016

Int. Arch. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

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“…Heim (1998) defined three I-factors: immersion, interactivity and information Intensity (or Levels of Detail, LOD). MacEachren et al (1999) added the I-factor of intelligence (about objects), which Wachowicz (2002) and Lammeren and Hogerwerf (2003) further extended. Zlatanova et al (2010) suggested animation/video (a predefined walk-through), interaction (the ability to navigate, zoom, and manipulate), query (the ability to explore attributes of objects, e.g., the area of a house or apartment), feedback (the option to provide an opinion), and change (the option to edit the shape or position of a house) as additional attributes of functionality in 3D representations.…”

Section: The Components Of 3d Maps and Their Role In Disaster Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-Dimensional Maps for Disaster Management

Bandrova

Zlatanova

Konečný

2012

ISPRS Ann. Photogramm. Remote Sens. Spatial Inf. Sci.

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ICA, ISPRS Commission IV, WG IV/8KEY WORDS: three-dimensional cartography, map standards, crisis management, user-oriented, value-added ABSTRACT: Geo-information techniques have proven their usefulness for the purposes of early warning and emergency response. These techniques enable us to generate extensive geo-information to make informed decisions in response to natural disasters that lead to better protection of citizens, reduce damage to property, improve the monitoring of these disasters, and facilitate estimates of the damages and losses resulting from them. The maintenance and accessibility of spatial information has improved enormously with the development of spatial data infrastructures (SDIs), especially with second-generation SDIs, in which the original product-based SDI was improved to a process-based SDI. Through the use of SDIs, geo-information is made available to local, national and international organisations in regions affected by natural disasters as well as to volunteers serving in these areas. Volunteer-based systems for information collection (e.g., Ushahidi) have been created worldwide. However, the use of 3D maps is still limited. This paper discusses the applicability of 3D geo-information to disaster management. We discuss some important aspects of maps for disaster management, such as user-centred maps, the necessary components for 3D maps, symbols, and colour schemas. In addition, digital representations are evaluated with respect to their visual controls, i.e., their usefulness for the navigation and exploration of the information. Our recommendations are based on responses from a variety of users of these technologies, including children, geospecialists and disaster managers from different countries.

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“…Some works have pointed that Virtual Reality (VR) techniques can help to mitigate this issue, especially regarding to knowledge construction for decision making (MacEachren et al, 1999;MacEachren et al, 2004;Hodza, 2009). VR provides 3D environments capable of giving to the users a feeling of "being there", enhancing their cognitive experience.…”

Section: Virtual Globes As Geobrowsersmentioning

confidence: 99%

GlobeOLAP - Improving the Geospatial Realism in Multidimensional Analysis Environment

Ferraz

Santos

2010

Proceedings of the 12th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems

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Abstract:The combination of Geographic Data Warehouses (GDW) and Spatial OLAP (SOLAP) provide efficient browsing and storing of very large spatio-temporal databases. However, some advanced techniques of geovisualization are not well supported in many of these tools. Three-dimensional Thematic Mapping through Virtual Globes is one of them, and it can provide a friendly but powerful mechanism for summarize visually huge amounts of geospatial-analytical data and their changes over time. This paper shows the GlobeOLAP, a prototype of a Web-based SOLAP tool that allows the customized generation of many types of Thematic Maps to be visualized three-dimensionally in a Virtual Globe (Google Earth), together with the traditional tabular view. This tool can improve management decisions by allowing managers to identify patterns and build knowledge in a spatial realistic environment.

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Virtual environments for geographic visualization

Cited by 74 publications

References 24 publications

On the Usability and Usefulness of 3d (Geo)visualizations – A Focus on Virtual Reality Environments

On the Usability and Usefulness of 3d (Geo)visualizations – A Focus on Virtual Reality Environments

Three-Dimensional Maps for Disaster Management

GlobeOLAP - Improving the Geospatial Realism in Multidimensional Analysis Environment

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