Abstract Data Visualisation in Mobile VR Platforms

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Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Perustieteiden korkeakoulu | Master's thesis

Date

2018-12-10

Department

Major/Subject

Digital Media Technology

Mcode

SCI3023

Degree programme

Master's Programme in ICT Innovation

Language

en

Pages

43+2

Series

Abstract

Data visualisation, as a key tool in data understanding, is widely used in science and everyday life. In order data visualisation to be effective, perceptual factors and the characteristics of the display interface play a crucial role. Virtual Reality is nowadays accepted as a valid medium for scientific visualisation, because of its inherent characteristics of real-world emulation and intuitive interaction. However, the use of VR in abstract data visualisation is still limited. In this research, I investigate the use and suitability of mobile phone-based Virtual Reality as a medium for abstract data visualisation. I develop a prototype VR Android application and visualise data using the Scatterplot and Parallel Coordinates methods. After that, I conduct a user study to compare the effectiveness of the mobile VR application compared to a similar screen-based one by implementing some data exploration scenarios. The study results, while not being statistically significant, show improved accuracy and speed in the mobile VR visualisation application. The main conclusions are two-fold: Virtual Reality is beneficial for abstract data visualisation, even in the case of limited processing power and display resolution. Mobile VR, an affordable alternative to expensive desktop VR set-ups can be utilized as a data visualisation platform.

Description

Supervisor

Vuorimaa, Petri

Thesis advisor

Vuorimaa, Petri

Keywords

virtual reality, data visualisation, mobile virtual reality, information visualisation, visual data mining

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