PRISM :: Browsing by Author "Willett, Wesley J."

Browsing by Author "Willett, Wesley J."

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Open Access
A Visual Interaction Cue Framework from Video Game Environments for Augmented Reality
(2018-09-18) Dillman, Kody R.; Tang, Tony C. T.; Wong, Nelson; Willett, Wesley J.
Based on an analysis of 49 popular contemporary video games, I develop a descriptive framework of visual interaction cues in video games. These cues are used to inform players what can be interacted with, where to look, and where to go within the game world. These cues vary along three dimensions: the purpose of the cue, the visual design of the cue, and the circumstances under which the cue is shown. I demonstrate that this framework can also be used to describe interaction cues for augmented reality applications. Beyond this, I show how the framework can be used to generatively derive new design ideas for visual interaction cues in augmented reality experiences and use the framework as a guide to create three novel AR prototypes. Finally, I suggest design considerations for the creation of visual interaction cues for augmented reality and examine how the framework might be employed in future work.
Open Access
Applications of Interactive Topographic Maps: Tangibility with Improved Spatial Awareness and Readability
(2019-07-02) Li, Hao; Sharlin, Ehud; Costa Sousa, Mario; Takashima, Kazuki; Chen, Zhangxing; Figueroa, Pablo; Willett, Wesley J.
Traditional flat topographic maps are difficult to understand due to the distortion and compromise of the 3-dimensional (3D) spatial representation when it is folded into lower-dimension media (e.g. 2D). During the process, the x-y coordinate of a location can be captured but its physical elevation must be transformed using some visualization techniques, resulting in noticeable cognitive effort in comprehending the original geometric and geographic properties of the original terrain. In this manuscript-based dissertation, I present a collection of my past publications that aim to increase the readability of topographic maps by restoring the original spatiality of the terrain - including the elevations - with a physical map representation and then superimpose additional data visualization on top of it. In this way, the entire terrain topology is kept in a scaled physical representation, allowing users to view it with natural human perceptions. Additionally, user gestures can be tracked in real-time as a sketch-based input to allow novel dynamic interaction of the map interface and data manipulation of the spatial information. Through the chapters, I present the aforementioned concept, named interactive topographic interface, along with a few applications of it in different academic and industrial environments. I also report the design and results of a user study that compares the interface with traditional flat topographic maps. In the long-term, I hope that research mentioned in this dissertation inspires future interactive physical cartography to not only improve map comprehension but also facilitate better spatial and situational awareness over the map interface, resulting in an evolved map usefulness.
Open Access
Augmented Reality Map Navigation with Freehand Gestures
(2019-03) Satriadi, Kadek Ananta; Ens, Barrett; Cordeil, Maxime; Czauderna, Tobias; Willett, Wesley J.; Jenny, Bernhard
Freehand gesture interaction has long been proposed as a ’natural’ input method for Augmented Reality (AR) applications, yet has been little explored for intensive applications like multiscale navigation. In multiscale navigation, such as digital map navigation, pan and zoom are the predominant interactions. A position-based input mapping (e.g. grabbing metaphor) is intuitive for such interactions, but is prone to arm fatigue. This work focuses on improving digital map navigation in AR with mid-air hand gestures, using a horizontal intangible map display. First, we conducted a user study to explore the effects of handedness (unimanual and bimanual) and input mapping (position-based and rate-based). From these findings we designed DiveZoom and TerraceZoom, two novel hybrid techniques that smoothly transition between position- and rate-based mappings. A second user study evaluated these designs. Our results indicate that the introduced input-mapping transitions can reduce perceived arm fatigue with limited impact on performance.
Open Access
Belief at first sight: Data visualization and the rationalization of seeing
(John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2019-12) Kosminsky, Doris; Walny, Jagoda; Vermeulen, Jo; Knudsen, Søren; Willett, Wesley J.; Carpendale, Sheelagh
Data visualizations are often represented in public discourse as objective proof of facts. However, a visualization is only a single translation of reality, just like any other media, representation devices, or modes of representation. If we wish to encourage thoughtful, informed, and literate consumption of data visualizations, it is crucial that we consider why they are often presented and interpreted as objective. We reflect theoretically on data visualization as a system of representation historically anchored in science, rationalism, and notions of objectivity. It establishes itself within a lineage of conventions for visual representations which extends from the Renaissance to the present and includes perspective drawing, photography, cinema and television, as well as computer graphics. By examining our tendency to see credibility in data visualizations and grounding that predisposition in a historical context, we hope to encourage more critical and nuanced production and interpretation of data visualizations in the public discourse.
Open Access
Beyond the Physical: Examining Scale and Annotation in Virtual Reality Visualizations
(Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary, 2018-10-10) Ulusoy, Teoman; Danyluk, Kurtis Thorvald; Willett, Wesley J.
We examine how viewers in virtual reality (VR) environments interact with simple data visualizations at scales ranging from hand-sized to room-sized. We also explore how the addition of virtual annotation and filtering tools affects how viewers solve basic data analysis tasks. We report on two studies, inspired by previous examinations of data physicalizations. The first study investigated how three visualization sizes, including hand-, table , and room-scale versions, impact viewers’ problem-solving behavior. A second study examined how interactive annotation and filtering tools might support new modes of use that transcend the limitations of physical representations. Our results highlight challenges associated with extreme scales, especially those that require navigation techniques other than physical locomotion, and hint at the potential of interactive annotation and filtering tools in VR visualization environments.
Open Access
Data Changes Everything: Challenges and Opportunities in Data Visualization Design Handoff
(2019-08-01) Jagoda Walny; Christian Frisson; Mieka West; Doris Kosminsky; Søren Knudsen; Sheelagh Carpendale; Willett, Wesley J.
Complex data visualization design projects often entail collaboration between people with different visualization-related skills. For example, many teams include both designers who create new visualization designs and developers who implement the resulting visualization software. We identify gaps between data characterization tools, visualization design tools, and development platforms that pose challenges for designer-developer teams working to create new data visualizations. While it is common for commercial interaction design tools to support collaboration between designers and developers, creating data visualizations poses several unique challenges that are not supported by current tools. In particular, visualization designers must characterize and build an understanding of the underlying data, then specify layouts, data encodings, and other data-driven parameters that will be robust across many different data values. In larger teams, designers must also clearly communicate these mappings and their dependencies to developers, clients, and other collaborators. We report observations and reflections from five large multidisciplinary visualization design projects and highlight six data-specific visualization challenges for design specification and handoff. These challenges include adapting to changing data, anticipating edge cases in data, understanding technical challenges, articulating data-dependent interactions, communicating data mappings, and preserving the integrity of data mappings across iterations. Based on these observations, we identify opportunities for future tools for prototyping, testing, and communicating data-driven designs, which might contribute to more successful and collaborative data visualization design.
Open Access
Data Embroidery: Exploring Alternative Mediums for Personal Physicalization
(2019-05) Wannamaker, Kendra; Willett, Wesley J.; Oehlberg, Lora A.; Carpendale, Sheelagh
Our work explores the use of embroidery as a medium for personal data representation. Personal physicalization is at the intersection of personal visualization and physicalization. More precisely, personal physicalization uses tangible objects to represent data in a personal context. This unique design space inspired us to explore alternative mediums to integrate data with personal artifacts, as well as facilitate the exploration of a multi-sensory data encoding. We first developed a workflow for authoring embroidered physicalizations. Then, we used this process to create an embroidered blanket based on text message data.
Open Access
Data Tectonics: A Framework for Building Physical and Immersive Data Representations
(2018-10) Hull, Carmen; Willett, Wesley J.
The emerging research areas of physical, immersive, and situated, data representations promise to revolutionize our experience of data — moving data visualizations off the desktop and instead surfacing data into the world we inhabit, touch, and sense with our whole bodies. While full of opportunities, this shift also poses immense new challenges for visualization designers, who must now contend with the reality of creating systems that have the spatiality, materiality, and scale of real-world environments. While the visualization community has long considered the role of perception and cognition for screen- and paper-based visualizations, designers of data physicalizations and situated visualizations must now consider our perception and experience of physical environments, material properties, cultural symbolism, and spatial relationships.
Open Access
A Design Space Exploration of Worlds in Miniature
(ACM : New York, New York, 2021-05-08) Danyluk, Kurtis Thorvald; Ens, Barrett; Jenny, Bernhard; Willett, Wesley J.
Worlds-in-Miniature (WiMs) are interactive worlds within a world and combine the advantages of an input space, a cartographic map, and an overview+detail interface. They have been used across the extended virtuality spectrum for a variety of applications. Building on an analysis of examples of WiMs from the research literature we contribute a design space for WiMs based on seven design dimensions. Further, we expand upon existing definitions of WiMs to provide a definition that applies across the extended reality spectrum. We identify the design dimensions of size-scope-scale, abstraction, geometry, reference frame, links, multiples, and virtuality. Using our framework we describe existing Worlds-in-Miniature from the research literature and reveal unexplored research areas. Finally, we generate new examples of WiMs using our framework to fill some of these gaps. With our findings, we identify opportunities that can guide future research into WiMs.
Open Access
Designing Camera Controls for Map Environments
(2019-01-16) Danyluk, Kurtis; Willett, Wesley J.; Willett, Wesley J.; Sharlin, Ehud; Samavati, Faramarz
We present an exploration of two classes of navigation techniques designed for representations of real-world terrain. The first introduces look-from camera controls, a new style of camera control for touch devices designed with representations of real world-terrain in mind and provides an evaluation of three different implementations of this style of control. The second looks to virtual reality and compares the effectiveness of four existing and common camera control techniques within the context of a representations of real world-terrain. Effective camera controls greatly increase a user’s ability to engage with a virtual environment, and virtual map environments are no different. However, current camera controls are difficult to use within map-like environments, requiring burdensome sequences of interactions or performing poorly within ragged terrain. To examine the effectiveness of different camera controls in this space we conducted two studies in which we asked participants to perform map reading and interaction tasks. In both studies the camera control technique greatly influenced participant engagement and enjoyment within a scene. The first study highlights the effectiveness of look-from camera controls as light-weight additions to direct manipulation controls and provides design guidelines for the construction of look-from camera controls. The second study highlights which existing common navigation techniques are most appropriate within a map-like environment presented in immersive virtual reality and how combinations of these controls can combine the strengths of the controls to cover for the weaknesses of others.
Open Access
Discussing Open Energy Data and Data Visualizations with Canadians
(2019-11-26) He, Helen Ai; Walny, Jagoda; Thoma, Sonja; Willett, Wesley J.; Carpendale, Sheelagh
Despite an abundance of data and prevalent open data initiatives from democratic governments, there are many unknowns about how to make open data truly accessible, engaging, and empowering to the general public. We present results from an interview study with 19 Canadians from diverse demographic and occupational backgrounds on their experiences, attitudes, and barriers regarding open government data and visualizations of open data, specifically in the energy domain. We observe among participants three categories of receptiveness to taking in new information on the topic of energy: Data-Interpretation-Receptive (DI-R), Interpretation-Receptive (I-R), and Data-Interpretation-Avoidant (DI-A). For each category, we unpack the barriers, values, and needs of participants, while identifying opportunities for open data and visualizations of open data to better inform, engage, and empower diverse members of the public. Our findings suggest a need for open data and open data visualizations for the public to move beyond a “one-size-fits-all” approach by considering the needs of data-interpretation-avoidant, interpretation-receptive, and data-interpretation-receptive as a step towards broadening the accessibly of open data.
Open Access
EvoIsland: An Island-Inspired Spatial User Interface Framework for Interactive Evolutionary Systems
(2020-11-03) Ivanov, Alexander; Jacob, Christian P.; Willett, Wesley J.; Maurer, Frank; Ruhe, Guenther
We present EvoIsland, a scalable interactive evolutionary user interface framework inspired by the spatially isolated land masses seen on Earth. Our generalizable interaction system encourages creators to explore a wide range of design possibilities through the combination, separation, and rearrangement of hexagonal tiles. As these tiles are grouped into island-like clusters, localized populations of designs form through an underlying evolutionary system. The interactions that take place within EvoIsland provide content creators with new ways to shape evolutionary populations suited for displaying, assessing, and manipulating systems that produce a wide range of solutions with visual phenotype outputs.
Open Access
LifeBrush: An Illustrative Simulation Canvas for the Biological Mesoscale
(2020-01) Davison, Timothy; Jacob, Christian; Samavati, Faramarz Famil; Costa Sousa, Mario; Olson, Arthur; Willett, Wesley J.; Herzog, W.
At the mesoscale, molecular machines assemble structure and orchestrate the processes of life. It is a chaotic and alien world whose scale makes communicating scientific findings a daunting challenge. Scientific illustrators confront the challenges with static illustration and video animations. With \lifeBrush{}, a virtual reality tool, we bring those static illustrations to life as interactive illustrative simulations. \lifeBrush{} is an illustrative simulation canvas, for sketching, simulating and visualizing the biological mesoscale. Like an artists paint palette, we design molecular arrangements, self-assembly rules, and generative procedures in an interactive palette. Then, we use our palette and generative algorithms to sketch illustrative simulations. We developed a novel realtime algorithm for painting and synthesizing element arrangements from a palette into virtual worlds. Our synthesis algorithm has applications for virtual world construction, and for interactively constructing illustrative mesoscale simulations. We synthesize networks of interconnected proteins filaments with sketch-based swarm grammars. To model macromolecular self-assembly, and to interactively construct macromolecular structures with our sketch-based system, we propose a realtime physics approximation based on spatial rules designed in the palette. We use our system to sketch and simulate cytoskeletal filaments in our illustrative simulation canvas. With our system, we structurally recreate, simulate and step inside some famous illustrations by the structural biologist David Goodsell.
Open Access
Look-From Camera Control for 3D Terrain Maps
(Association for Computing Machinery, 2018-10) Danyluk, Kurtis Thorvald; Jenny, Bernhard; Willett, Wesley J.
We introduce three lightweight interactive camera control techniques for 3D terrain maps on touch devices based on a look-from metaphor (Discrete Look-From-At, Continuous Look- From-Forward, and Continuous Look-From-Towards). These techniques complement traditional touch screen pan, zoom, rotate, and pitch controls and allow viewers to quickly transition between top-down, oblique, and ground-level views. We present the results of a study in which we asked participants to perform elevation comparison and line-of-sight determination tasks using each technique. Our results highlight how look-fromtechniques can be integrated on top of current direct manipulation navigation approaches by combining several direct manipulation operations into a single look-from operation. Additionally, they show how look-from techniques help viewers complete a variety of common and challenging map-based tasks.
Open Access
PixelClipper: Supporting Public Engagement and Conversation About Visualizations
(IEEE, 2020-03) Walny, Jagoda; Storteboom, Sarah; Pusch, Richard; Hwang, Steven Munsu; Knudsen, Søren; Carpendale, Sheelagh; Willett, Wesley J.
In this article, we present PixelClipper, a tool built for facilitating data engagement events. PixelClipper supports conversations around visualizations in public settings through annotation and commenting capabilities. It is recognized that understanding data is important for an informed society. However, even when visualizations are available on the web, open data is not yet reaching all audiences. Public facilitated events centered around data visualizations may help bridge this gap. PixelClipper is designed to promote discussion and engagement with visualizations in public settings. It allows viewers to quickly and expressively extract visual clippings from visualizations and add comments to them. Ambient and facilitator displays attract attention by showing clippings. They function as entry points to the full visualizations while supporting deeper conversations about the visualizations and data. We describe the design goals of PixelClipper, share our experiences from deploying it, and discuss its future potential in supporting data visualization engagement events.
Open Access
Simultaneous Worlds: Using Physical Models to Contextualize and Compose Visualizations
(2018-10) Hull, Carmen; Willett, Wesley J.; Carpendale, Sheelagh
In this poster, we introduce an interactive prototype that integrates site-specific architectural models and tangible displays to compose multiple data representations in the same view. This vision of simultaneous worlds uses physical models as a substrate upon which visualizations of multiple data streams can be dynamically integrated. To explore the potential of this concept, we built a tangible tabletop system that uses scale models of a campus to visualize energy use and climate data. We believe that the metaphor of simultaneous worlds has the ability to unpack novel connections between datasets, supporting embodied exploration, critical thinking, and collaboration.
Open Access
Situated Self-Tracking: Ideating, Designing, and Deploying Dedicated User-driven Personal Informatics Systems
(2021-01-20) Wannamaker, Kendra; Willett, Wesley J.; Tang, Tony; Suzuki, Ryo; Willett, Wesley J.
In this thesis, we examine the intersection between personal informatics and situated visualization. Personal Informatics systems aim to help people collect and utilize their own data. Situated visualizations aim to decentralize data consumption and support people in making data-driven decisions in-situ. We present I/O Bits, a prototype personal informatics system that explores the potential for situated self-tracking. With simple tactile inputs and small e-paper visualizations, I/O Bits are dedicated physical devices that allow individuals to track and visualize different kinds of personal activities in-situ. This is in contrast to most self-tracking systems, which automate data collection, centralize information displays, or integrate into multi-purpose devices like smartwatches or mobile phones. Our contributions stem from a set of situated ideation workshops, an e-paper visualization workshop, the development of I/O Bits, and a prototype deployment where participants constructed their own I/O Bits and used them to track a range of personal data. We make three contributions with this work. First, we report on methodologies from seven design workshops that used ideation and sketching activities to prototype new situated visualizations. Based on our diverse set of workshops, we identify challenges and opportunities for sketching and ideating situated visualizations and highlight promising methods for both designers and researchers. Second, we use our design workshop results to design our novel situated self-tracking system, I/O Bits. We discuss the tensions experienced during our iterative design and development process and explore the design space of small situated visualizations on e-paper displays. Finally, we examine our findings from the situated ideation workshops, e-paper visualization workshop, development process, and prototype deployment. Using sketches, photos, hardware, audio recordings, and transcripts, we distill a set of insights and opportunities for future research on situated self-tracking.
Open Access
Sketching and Ideation Activities for Situated Visualization Design
(2019-06) Bressa, Nathalie; Wannamaker, Kendra; Korsgaard, Henrik; Willett, Wesley J.; Vermeulen, Jo
We report on findings from seven design workshops that used ideation and sketching activities to prototype new situated visualizations — representations of data that are displayed in proximity to the physical referents (such as people, objects, and locations) to which the data is related. Designing situated visualizations requires a fine-grained understanding of the context in which the visualizations are placed, as well as an exploration of different options for placement and form factors, which existing methods for visualization design do not account for. Focusing on small displays as a target platform, we reflect on our experiences of using a diverse range of sketching activities, materials, and prompts. Based on these observations, we identify challenges and opportunities for sketching and ideating situated visualizations. We also outline the space of design activities for situated visualization and highlight promising methods for both designers and researchers.
Open Access
Touch and Beyond: Comparing Physical and Virtual Reality Visualizations
(2020-09-10) Danyluk, Kurtis Thorvald; Ulusoy, Teoman Tomo; Wei, Wei; Willett, Wesley J.
We compare physical and virtual reality (VR) versions of simple data visualizations. We also explore how the addition of virtual annotation and filtering tools affects how viewers solve basic data analysis tasks. We report on two studies, inspired by previous examinations of data physicalizations. The first study examined differences in how viewers interact with physical hand-scale, virtual hand-scale,and virtual table-scale visualizations and the impact that the different forms had on viewer's problem-solving behavior. A second study examined how interactive annotation and filtering tools might support new modes of use that transcend the limitations of physical representations. Our results highlight challenges associated with virtual reality representations and hint at the potential of interactive annotation and filtering tools in VR visualizations.
Open Access
Using smartphone data to design urban spaces: visualization, modeling, and public engagement
(2020-05-21) Rout, Angela; Galpern, Paul; Maurer, Frank; Willett, Wesley J.; Tsenkova, Sasha
University campuses contain outdoor spaces that, when well-designed, can support student well-being. It may be easier to design campuses that benefit students if designers are aware of student movement and campus use patterns. Until quite recently, precise data about how students move around their campuses has not been widely available. However, the near ubiquity of smartphones, and their capacity to collect location data, presents new opportunities both to understand student movements, and more generally, the movements of people across urban areas. While the data are abundant and seemingly available, much work remains to demonstrate the value of this resource in real-world urban design applications. This thesis presents four stand-alone manuscripts that address different aspects of the urban design process, using a single university campus as a model system. The first provides a review of how location data have been used to understand human behaviour in urban settings. The remaining three draw on a data set of smartphone locations collected from 300 students, tracking their individual movements on a university campus. One study, using these data, considers how best to incorporate location data in public engagement. Another demonstrates a tool for visualizing location data intended for use by design experts. And a final study investigates patterns in the use of design features by modelling the data. These studies demonstrate that location data derived from smartphones (for example, smartphone-GPS data) can be used by non-experts in public engagement scenarios, that it can also help architects to understand flows of human movement, and that it can guide designers towards better-informed decisions about design features. The introduction of the thesis provides the context for this research, and provides an overview of each chapter. The thesis concludes by discussing how all four studies provide insights for future researchers and more specifically, to designers of campus plans.