Master
Visualizing temporal nearness
Fundamental problem
- Relative nearness is highly problematic to visualize in 2D when;
- "route graph" / temporal distances is anisotropic; A->B != B->A
- Happens easily; i.e. access restriction. Patient moves slower in the hospital than staff
- May need to suppress relative nearness
- Guarantee nearness from one actor to everyone else
- Indicate (NOT guarantee) relative nearness
Conceptual visualizations
Temporal circles
- Using circles around objects indicating how far they are away in time
- Enhanced by psychological scaled circles
- Relative nearness solved by finding intersecting points of all relevant circles. (or an approximation of this - i.e. "snap-to-circle")
- Concepts position = temporal topology =? geographic topology?
- ISSUES
- Relative positioning of concepts may be complex
- Perfect relative positioning is "impossible" when graph is anisotropic;
- A: Graph is directed with different edge-costs (i.e. A-B=1 AND B-A=5)
- B: Edge-costs vary from different nodes according to actor. I.e. Actor J.D. traverses a different graph than actor O.N. For instance due to access restrictions.
- HOWEVER! candidate positions are _always_ given. A ranking of the most important distance relationships can decide which candidates to choose from. (although, visualization is then not perfect, i.e. it is "false")
- Possible solution is to "force" the perspective of the user. (i.e. his navigation in the graph and not everyone else) SEE; anisotropic maps
| Psychological scaled circles |
| Scaled Circles for OR Case (EMMSAD) |
Temporal radar (circles with spatial direction)
- Temporal nearness as circles from one concept (actor/user)
- Positioning of concepts on the circles decided by the spatial direction (i.e. left/right..)
- Need to assume device supports the direction of the device/user
- Electronic compass, calibrated compass, deduction by movement etc..
Combined coordinate-system and scaled circles
- Embed a coordinate system in the circles.
- Nearness is only from the central perspectives (i.e. the user's perspective)
Subway metaphor
- Nodes and lines
- Nodes positions are decided by their spatial topology.
- Possible altering; Nodes position is randomized.
- How could temporal topology be visualized?
- In a sequence - coordinate-system-like?
- Lines connecting nodes carry temporal attributes (i.e. how far away in time)
- Employ different visual variables on lines to convey the change in attributes
- Size
- Colour
- ... USE VARIABLES WITH APPROPRIATE PROPERTIES (see Ware - infovis)
"Topographic" map
- Objects are placed correctly in a floor plan map (i.e. their spatial location)
- Relationships: (i.e. actor->task)
- Lines
- Colour coding (texture/colour)
- Temporal information
- Lines
- Label
- Colour coding (texture/colour)
- State
- A visual variable (i.e. colour)
| Floor Plan visualization of OR Case (EMMSAD) |
"Temporal terrain map"
- Exploit the fact that physical terrain has the same issues that the temporal properties in case.
- Mountains; it will take longer to go up a mountain than down, depending on the slope
- Typically visualized by; contour lines OR shading techniques.
- Use shading to indicate that actor A has longer temporal distance to B than B has to A. I.e. it is a uphill slope from A to B and downhill from B to A.
"Coordinate system" map
- Concepts position decided by two dimensions:
- Temporal topology
- Relationship
- Strongly related to perspective (i.e. user and/or a task in question)
- Scheduled start time (or end time/deadline)
- State
- Possibly very bad visualization :)
Gantt/Calendar/Schedule like visualization
- X-axis = time (08:00-18:00). Y-axis = nearness (in intervals)
- Magnitude of tasks in Y-axis = magnitude in time
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