Fredy Jara
Institute for Visualization and Perception Research
University of Massachusetts at Lowell
One University Avenue
Lowell, MA 01854
fjara@cs.uml.edu
Thesis Commitee:
Dr. Georges G. Grinstein (Thesis Advisor)
Dr. Haim Levkowitz
Dr. Ronald Pickett
1998
Icons have become popular in visualizations systems because their capacity to represent
high dimensional data is well suited to the requirements of modern databases characterized
by their complexity and high dimensionality. Pickett and Grinstein introduced an
iconographic technique in which statistical structure in the data are perceived in the form of
texture. The use of this technique has been limited even though promising results have been
obtained in visualizing multidimensional data. Lack of support for interactions, difficulties in
establishing an effective mapping, and a lack of ways for quantitatively measuring the
effectiveness of the technique in conveying information to the user may be related to this
lack of use. Recently, an ongoing work by Pinkney, has opened new opportunities for this technique. A formal model for representing icons and a set of novel interaction techniques are key points in Pinkney's work.
This course of research will extend the iconographic technique in several ways. We will create a framework to integrate the iconographic technique with other visualizations techniques. In this framework we intend to develop: first, an environment with multiple linked views in which relationships between structures in the data and patterns revealed in the iconographic representation can be investigated. Second, interactions involving linked representations to dynamically and interactively explore different mappings. Third, interactive data navigation with the iconographic display providing a single and unifying starting view that take advantage of the textural representation and its pre-attentive discrimination by the human visual system to provide cues to guide the navigation process.