Panagiotis Ritsos

Visualizations are nowadays appearing in popular media and are used everyday in the workplace. This democratisation of visualization challenges educators to develop effective learning strategies, in order to train the next generation of creative visualization specialists. There is high demand for skilled individuals who can analyse a problem, consider alternative designs, develop new visualizations, and be creative and innovative. Our three-stage framework, leads the learner through a series of tasks, each designed to develop different skills necessary for coming up with creative, innovative, effective, and purposeful visualizations. For that, we get the learners to create an explanatory visualization of an algorithm of their choice. By making an algorithm choice, and by following an active-learning and project-based strategy, the learners take ownership of a particular visualization challenge. They become enthusiastic to develop good results and learn different creative skills on their learning journey.

Navigating a powered wheelchair and avoiding collisions is often a daunting task for new wheelchair users. It takes time and practice to gain the coordination needed to become a competent driver and this can be even more of a challenge for someone with a disability. We present a cost-effective virtual reality (VR) application that takes advantage of consumer level VR hardware. The system can be easily deployed in an assessment centre or for home use, and does not depend on a specialized high-end virtual environment such as a Powerwall or CAVE. This paper reviews previous work that has used virtual environments technology for training tasks, particularly wheelchair simulation. We then describe the implementation of our own system and the first validation study carried out using thirty three able bodied volunteers. The study results indicate that at a significance level of 5% then there is an improvement in driving skills from the use of our VR system. We thus have the potential to de...

ABSTRACT As our life becomes more intertwined with technology our capabilities in interacting and communicating with each other take a new form. In the distant past we relied on posted letters and postcards to contact each other, often requiring a lot of days for the correspondence to reach the intended recipient. Our perception of distance from each other and therefore our world as space changed with the introduction of telephony. Communicating with distant relatives was easier, albeit associated with physically being present in front of a telephone and, therefore, still locus dependent. Mobile telephony brought even further immediacy of communication. Space matters even less now. We are either within network coverage but maybe in the cinema and unavailable or somewhere with poor reception. From being miles and days apart, we now feel like we are mere seconds apart. Our perception of space changes, as our friends and family seem closer, despite the fact they may be, physically, in a location that a century ago would take us weeks to reach with posted mail.

ABSTRACT Le roi est mort, vive le roi!; or The King is dead, long live the King was a phrase originally used for the French throne of Charles VII in 1422, upon the death of his father Charles VI. To stave civil unrest the governing �gures wanted perpetuation of the monarchs. Likewise, while the desktop as-we-know-it is dead (the use of the WIMP interface is becoming obsolete in visualization) it is being superseded by a new type of desktop environment: a multisensory visualization space. This `space' is still a personal workspace, it's just a new kind of desk environment. Our vision is that data visualization will become more multisensory, integrating and demanding all our senses (sight, touch, audible, taste, smell etc.), to both manipulate and perceive the underlying data and information.

ABSTRACT Our goal is to help oceanographers to visualize and navigate their data over several runs. We have been using parallel coordinate plots to display every data value. Through our copy, cut, paste interactions we aim to enable users to drill-down into specific data points and to explore the datasets in a more expressive way. The method allows users to manipulate the PCP on a ZUI canvas, take copies of the current PCP and paste different subset views.

ABSTRACT Haptic Data Visualization (HDV) is a novel application of haptics. It provides functionality by which users touch and feel data, making it a useful tool for users with vision impairments. However, creating such visualizations usually requires programming knowledge, that support workers and tutors of blind users may not possess. To address this issue we propose a formalized process for creating HDVs using the HITPROTO toolkit, which requires no programming experience. We further illustrate this process using an example HDV.

ABSTRACT Augmented Reality technology has been used in medical visualization applications in various different ways. Haptics, on the other hand, are a popular method of interacting in Augmented and Virtual Reality environments. We present how reliance on standards benefits the fusion of these technologies, through a series of research themes, carried out in Bangor University, UK (and international partners), as well as within the activities domain of the Research Institute of Visual Computing (RIVIC), UK.

Sketching designs has been shown to be a useful way of planning and considering alternative solutions. The use of lofidelity prototyping, especially paper-based sketching, can save time, money and converge to better solutions more quickly. However, this design process is often viewed to be too informal. Consequently users do not know how to manage their thoughts and ideas (to first think divergently, to then finally converge on a suitable solution). We present the Five Design Sheet (FdS) methodology. The methodology enables users to create information visualization interfaces through lo-fidelity methods. Users sketch and plan their ideas, helping them express different possibilities, think through these ideas to consider their potential effectiveness as solutions to the task (sheet 1); they create three principle designs (sheets 2,3 and 4); before converging on a final realization design that can then be implemented (sheet 5). In this article, we present (i) a review of the use of sketching as a planning method for visualization and the benefits of sketching, (ii) a detailed description of the Five Design Sheet (FdS) methodology, and (iii) an evaluation of the FdS using the System Usability Scale, along with a case-study of its use in industry and experience of its use in teaching.

ABSTRACT As our life becomes more intertwined with technology our capabilities in interacting and communicating with each other take a new form. In the distant past we relied on posted letters and postcards to contact each other, often requiring a lot of days for the correspondence to reach the intended recipient. Our perception of distance from each other and therefore our world as space changed with the introduction of telephony. Communicating with distant relatives was easier, albeit associated with physically being present in front of a telephone and, therefore, still locus dependent. Mobile telephony brought even further immediacy of communication. Space matters even less now. We are either within network coverage but maybe in the cinema and unavailable or somewhere with poor reception. From being miles and days apart, we now feel like we are mere seconds apart. Our perception of space changes, as our friends and family seem closer, despite the fact they may be, physically, in a location that a century ago would take us weeks to reach with posted mail.

In this position paper, we make an argument for the anthropomorphism of software agents as a persuasive tool. We begin by discussing some of the relevant applications, before providing a brief introduction to the CASA theory of social interaction with computers. We conclude by describing a selection of the evidence for anthropomorphism, and an argument for further research into this area.

Visual Analytics interfaces allow ocean scientists to interactively investigate and compare different runs and parameterizations. However, oceanographic models are complex, temporal and the datasets that are generated are huge. Parallel Coordinate Plots can help explore multivariate data such as ocean-science data. Common issues with traditional PCPs of clutter and performance inhibit interactive spatial exploration. We describe techniques that aggregates the PCP based on the spatial nature of the data and we render the polylines as ranges.

ABSTRACT With the rise in population migration there has been an increased need for professional interpreters who can bridge language barriers and operate in a variety of fields such as business, legal, social and medical. Interpreters require specialized training to cope with the idiosyncrasies of each field and their potential clients need to be aware of professional parlance. We present `Project IVY'. In IVY, users can make a selection from over 30 interpreter training scenarios situated in the 3D virtual world. Users then interpret the oral interaction of two avatar actors. In addition to creating different 3D scenarios, we have developed an asset management system for the oral files and permit users (mentors of the training interpreters) to easily upload and customize the 3D environment and observe which scenario is being used by a student. In this article we present the design and development of the IVY Virtual Environment and the asset management system. Finally we make discussion over our plans for further development.

Le roi est mort, vive le roi!; or The King is dead, long live the King was a phrase originally used for the French throne of Charles VII in 1422, upon the death of his father Charles VI. To stave civil unrest the governing �gures wanted perpetuation of the monarchs. Likewise, while the desktop as-we-know-it is dead (the use of the WIMP interface is becoming obsolete in visualization) it is being superseded by a new type of desktop environment: a multisensory visualization space. This `space' is still a personal workspace, it's just a new kind of desk environment. Our vision is that data visualization will become more multisensory, integrating and demanding all our senses (sight, touch, audible, taste, smell etc.), to both manipulate and perceive the underlying data and information.

ABSTRACT Learning Analytics is the collection, management and analysis of students’ learning. It is used to enable teachers to understand how their students are progressing and for learners to ascertain how well they are performing. Often the data is displayed through dashboards. However, there is a huge opportunity to include more comprehensive and interactive visualizations that provide visual depictions and analysis throughout the lifetime of the learner, monitoring their progress from novices to experts. We therefore encourage researchers to take a comprehensive approach and re-think how visual analytics can be applied to the learning environment, and develop more interactive and exploratory interfaces for the learner and teacher.

ABSTRACT Heritage sites (such as prehistoric burial cairns and standing stones) are prolific in Europe; although there is a wish to scan each of these sites, it would be time-consuming to achieve. Citizen science approaches enable us to involve the public to perform a metric survey by capturing images. In this paper, discussing work-in progress, we present our automatic process that takes the user's uploaded photographs, converts them into 3D models and displays them in two presentation platforms - in a web gallery application, using X3D/X3DOM, and in mobile augmented reality, using awe.js.

ABSTRACT Our goal is to help oceanographers to visualize and navigate their data over several runs. We have been using parallel coordinate plots to display every data value. Through our copy, cut, paste interactions we aim to enable users to drill-down into specific data points and to explore the datasets in a more expressive way. The method allows users to manipulate the PCP on a ZUI canvas, take copies of the current PCP and paste different subset views.

ABSTRACT Haptic Data Visualization (HDV) is a novel application of haptics. It provides functionality by which users touch and feel data, making it a useful tool for users with vision impairments. However, creating such visualizations usually requires programming knowledge, that support workers and tutors of blind users may not possess. To address this issue we propose a formalized process for creating HDVs using the HITPROTO toolkit, which requires no programming experience. We further illustrate this process using an example HDV.

Visualization is coming of age. With visual depictions being seamlessly integrated into documents, and data visualization techniques being used to understand increasingly large and complex datasets, the term "visualization"' is becoming used in everyday conversations. But we are on a cusp; visualization researchers need to develop and adapt to today's new devices and tomorrow's technology. Today, people interact with visual depictions through a mouse. Tomorrow, they'll be touching, swiping, grasping, feeling, hearing, smelling, and even tasting data. The next big thing is multisensory visualization that goes beyond the desktop.

ABSTRACT Haptic devices are becoming more widely used as hardware becomes available and the cost of both low and high fidelity haptic devices decreases. One of the application areas of haptics is haptic data visualization (HDV). HDV provides functionality by which users can feel and touch data. Blind and partially sighted users can benefit from HDV, as it helps them manipulate and understand information. However, developing any 3D haptic world is difficult, time-consuming and requires skilled programmers. Therefore, systems that enable haptic worlds to be rapidly developed in a simple environment could enable non-computer skilled users to create haptic 3D interactions. In this article we present HITPROTO: a system that enables users, such as mentors or support workers, to quickly create haptic interactions (with an emphasis on HDVs) through a visual programming interface. We describe HITPROTO and include details of the design and implementation. We present the results of a detailed study using postgraduate students as potential mentors, which provides evidence of the usability of HITPROTO. We also present a pilot study of HITPROTO with a blind user. It can be difficult to create prototyping tools and support 3D interactions, therefore we present a detailed list of 'lessons learnt' that provides a set of guidelines for developers of other 3D haptic prototyping tools.

ABSTRACT Augmented Reality technology has been used in medical visualization applications in various different ways. Haptics, on the other hand, are a popular method of interacting in Augmented and Virtual Reality environments. We present how reliance on standards benefits the fusion of these technologies, through a series of research themes, carried out in Bangor University, UK (and international partners), as well as within the activities domain of the Research Institute of Visual Computing (RIVIC), UK.

... of computer technology, one can imagine a system that uses virtual reality technology to visualize the ancient buildings as ... Christine Clark is a researcher in the VASE Laboratory. She has developed software that generates 3D models in a number of formats that conform to the ...