Using Medieval Architecture as Inspiration for Display Design: Parameter Interrelationships and Organizational Structure

In physical environments such as aerospace and process control, many system components and their associated information are interrelated (e.g., an increase in a chamber temperature results in an increase in its pressure). Displaying interrelationships between individual parameters and also among sets of parameters reveals meaningful information and can help yield understanding about the “big picture,” which operators in complex systems commonly strive for. In this paper, we propose a framework for information organization, discuss a method for computation of such interrelations, and suggest a display organization approach to “house” them. The computation is done using data mining tools and the display organization approach is based on concepts from Islamic medieval architecture. We illustrate these ideas using a helicopter engine display and briefly discuss some of the implications for a holistic display of multiple components and subsystems.