iV-Morph: Interactive Visual Metamorphosis for Multi-view Data Exploration

• Applicant: Professor Dr.-Ing. Christian Tominski
• Subject Area: Image and Language Processing, Computer Graphics and Visualisation, Human Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous and Wearable Computing
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 514630063

Visually exploring complex data with respect to different aspects (e.g., spatial distribution, temporal dependencies, or relations between entities) typically requires using multiple complex visual representations, each offering a different perspective on the data. Standard visualization solutions usually present a spatial arrangement of views where the visual representations are juxtaposed, superposed, or nested. It is then the task of the human observer to integrate the information provided by the different visual representations to form an overall picture of the data. This manual integration is challenging due to limited support for transferring insight from one visual representation to another. This proposal investigates interactive visual metamorphosis as a novel approach to facilitate the visual exploration of complex data being depicted in several non-trivial views. The goal is to narrow visual and conceptual gaps between visualization views by employing smooth display transitions that transform one visual representation into another one. Through the visual part of the metamorphosis, it will be easier for users to transfer insights from one visual representation to another. The interaction part will allow user to control and steer the metamorphosis. Overall, interactive visual metamorphosis will offer a new way for interactive data exploration: Instead of looking at multiple static views in parallel, users will smoothly travel between dynamically changing views. During this traveling, users will accumulate the insight necessary to comprehensively understand the data. This project aims to study the potential of interactive visual metamorphosis by the example of multi-faceted graphs. First, a basis for interactive visual metamorphosis will be developed based on morphable graphics primitives as the basic building blocks. These building blocks are then compiled to create novel dynamically changeable visual representations for multi-faceted graphs. A major concern will be the investigation of suitable visual metamorphoses between pairs of visual representations. The resulting smooth display transitions are then to be combined to create shape-shifting views, which support the structured exploration of multiple data facets via interactive visual metamorphoses. The project will generate first insight into the advantages and disadvantages of interactive visual metamorphosis in comparison to classic multi-view visualization.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants