ABSTRACT

Augmented reality (AR) enables the creation of immersive situated visualizations. These visualizations blend with the real world so that the user perceives the virtual objects as physically present. We propose two novel immersive situated visualizations for geospatial quantitative point data that link AR bar graphics in the real environment with a virtual AR chart or map. The Egocentric Bar Chart combines virtual bars placed in a real landscape with a virtual 360° bar chart arranged around the user. The Circular Map with Bars combines bars in a real landscape with a 360° virtual map showing bar graphics. These visualizations are designed for inspecting the location and attributes of individual points, as well as understanding the spatial and non-spatial patterns of a set of points. We conducted a study with 12 participants to evaluate reading accuracy and efficiency of the two visualizations, with a view from a skyscraper at the center of the Melbourne metropolitan area. To better control confounding factors, the study used a virtual environment instead of an AR setup. We found that the two suggested visualizations performed better than bars placed in a landscape, and received positive feedback from study participants. The Egocentric Bar Chart visualization was most accurate when estimating and comparing values, and we identified promising improvements for the Circular Map with Bars visualization. Our results demonstrate the potential of AR technology for the communication of geospatial point data with immersive situated bar graphics in an outdoor environment.

摘要

增强现实（AR）支持创建身临其境的可视化效果。这些可视化与现实世界融为一体，以便用户将虚拟对象感知为物理存在。对于地理空间定量点数据，我们提出了两种新颖的沉浸式可视化技术，它们将真实环境中的AR条形图与虚拟AR图表或地图相链接。以自我为中心的条形图将放置在真实环境中的虚拟条形图与围绕用户排列的虚拟360°条形图进行了组合。带酒吧的圆形地图将真实景观中的条形图与显示条形图的360°虚拟地图相结合。这些可视化旨在检查单个点的位置和属性，以及了解一组点的空间和非空间模式。我们从12名参与者中进行了一项研究，以评估这两种可视化的阅读准确性和效率，并从墨尔本都会区中心的一幢摩天大楼上进行了观察。为了更好地控制混杂因素，该研究使用虚拟环境代替了AR设置。我们发现，两种建议的可视化效果都优于放置在景观中的条形图，并获得了研究参与者的积极反馈。该自我中心条形图在估计和比较值时，可视化是最准确的，并且我们发现了带有Bars可视化的圆形地图的有希望的改进。我们的结果证明了AR技术在室外环境中通过身临其境的条形图传递地理空间点数据的潜力。