Towards Effective and Ubiquitous Data Visualization by Fusing Immersive Technology into Traditional Workflow

PhD Thesis Proposal Defence


Title: "Towards Effective and Ubiquitous Data Visualization by Fusing Immersive 
Technology into Traditional Workflow"

by

Mr. Wai TONG


Abstract:

Decisions are increasingly made based on data in the big data era, and data 
visualization plays a critical role in assisting people in understanding and 
making sense of data effectively. It is then curial to make data visualization 
more ubiquitous and effective for decision-making and problem-solving. With the 
rapid advancement of immersive technologies, i.e., augmented reality (AR) and 
virtual reality (VR), these innovations have shown numerous benefits for making 
data analysis more effective and ubiquitous via enhanced sensory perceptions, 
larger display areas, 3D rendering capabilities, embodied interactions, and 
connections to real-world contexts. However, transitioning visualization 
workflows from familiar PCs to relatively new and unfamiliar AR/VR immersive 
environments poses significant challenges. The steep learning curve associated 
with immersive visualization has impeded widespread user adoption. Besides the 
steep learning curve, fully transitioning to AR/VR immersive environments might 
lose the unique benefits of traditional visualization workflows (e.g., precise 
interaction and strong community support).

This thesis proposal addresses the challenge by fusing immersive technologies 
into familiar workflows, thereby reducing the learning curve, improving the 
user experience, and utilizing the benefits of both traditional workflow and 
immersive technologies. In particular, the thesis concentrates on two primary 
data visualization applications: data exploration and data storytelling. For 
data exploration, the thesis investigates two techniques, PC (traditional) + VR 
(immersive) and paper (traditional) + AR (immersive), to achieve effective and 
ubiquitous visual analysis. The PC+VR technique merges the conventional PC with 
VR, leveraging the familiar input capabilities of PCs and the expansive display 
space of VR to accommodate both individual and collaborative scenarios for 
visual problem-solving. The paper+AR approach utilizes ubiquitous paper sheets 
as tangible tokens, capitalizing on users’ familiarity to facilitate seamless 
interaction with data in AR. For data storytelling, the thesis proposes 
VisTellAR, which addresses this challenge by leveraging people’s video-taking 
workflows and AR technology. In particular, it is proposed to simplify the 
complex process of embedding data visualization into storytelling, particularly 
for short-form videos intended for immediate sharing. This task typically 
necessitates expertise in video editing and visualization authoring.

By uniting traditional workflows with immersive technology, this proposal seeks 
to foster wider acceptance of immersive visualization for effective and 
ubiquitous data visualization. Results from the studies present suggestive 
evidence of the potential and benefits of combining traditional work- flows and 
immersive environments for data visualization. The design considerations 
distilled from the studies could inspire novel perspectives on connecting 
individuals with immersive visualization experiences, laying the groundwork for 
future advancements in the field.


Date:			Tuesday, 2 May 2023

Time:                  	2:00pm - 4:00pm

Venue:			Room 5501
  			lifts 25/26

Committee Members:	Prof. Huamin Qu (Supervisor)
 			Prof. Ting-Chuen Pong (Supervisor)
 			Prof. Chiew-Lan Tai (Chairperson)
 			Dr. Mingming FAN (ISD)


**** ALL are Welcome ****