2D and 3D presentation of spatial data: A systematic review

The question whether to use 2D or 3D for data visualization is generally difficult to decide. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional visualization techniques exhibit different advantages and disadvantages related to various perceptual and technical aspects such as occlusion, clutter, distortion, or scalability. To facilitate problem understanding and comparison of existing visualization techniques with regard to these aspects, this report introduces a systematization based on presentation characteristics. It enables a categorization with respect to combinations of static 2D and 3D presentations of attributes and their spatial reference. Further, it complements existing systematizations of data in an effort to formalize a common terminology and theoretical framework for this problem domain. We demonstrate our approach by reviewing different visualization techniques of spatial data according to the presented systematization.

[1]  Alan J. Dix,et al.  A Taxonomy of Clutter Reduction for Information Visualisation , 2007, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[2]  Stephen Brooks,et al.  Multilayer hybrid visualizations to support 3D GIS , 2008, Comput. Environ. Urban Syst..

[3]  Peter R. Keller,et al.  Visual cues - practical data visualization , 1993 .

[4]  Ken Brodlie,et al.  Gaining understanding of multivariate and multidimensional data through visualization , 2004, Comput. Graph..

[5]  Jürgen Döllner,et al.  Better Perception of 3D-Spatial Relations by Viewport Variations , 2008, VISUAL.

[6]  Matthias Trapp,et al.  Interactive Multi-Perspective Views of Virtual 3D Landscape and City Models , 2008, AGILE Conf..

[7]  Natalia Adrienko,et al.  Spatial Generalization and Aggregation of Massive Movement Data , 2011 .

[8]  Michela Bertolotto,et al.  Exploratory spatio-temporal data mining and visualization , 2007, J. Vis. Lang. Comput..

[9]  Gennady L. Andrienko,et al.  Interactive visual tools to explore spatio-temporal variation , 2004, AVI.

[10]  Colin Ware,et al.  Zooming versus multiple window interfaces: Cognitive costs of visual comparisons , 2006, TCHI.

[11]  Hans-Peter Seidel,et al.  Topological Structures in Two‐Parameter‐Dependent 2D Vector Fields , 2006, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[12]  Torsten Hägerstraand.  WHAT ABOUT PEOPLE IN REGIONAL SCIENCE , 1970 .

[13]  Heidrun Schumann,et al.  Visualization of attributed hierarchical structures in a spatiotemporal context , 2010, Int. J. Geogr. Inf. Sci..

[14]  Matthias Kreuseler,et al.  Visualization of geographically related multidimensional data in virtual 3D scenes , 2000 .

[15]  Gennady L. Andrienko,et al.  Spatial Generalization and Aggregation of Massive Movement Data , 2011, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[16]  Stefan Schlechtweg,et al.  Non-photorealistic computer graphics: modeling, rendering, and animation , 2002 .

[17]  Shu-Ching Chen,et al.  A 3D visualization system for hurricane storm-surge flooding , 2006, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[18]  Craig S. Kaplan,et al.  Precise vector textures for real-time 3D rendering , 2008, I3D '08.

[19]  Jean-Yves Vion-Dury,et al.  Virtual images: interactive visualization of distributed object-oriented systems , 1994, OOPSLA '94.

[20]  Stefan Buschmann,et al.  Hardware-accelerated attribute mapping for interactive visualization of complex 3D trajectories , 2015, 2014 International Conference on Information Visualization Theory and Applications (IVAPP).

[21]  Harvey S. Smallman,et al.  Information Availability in 2D and 3D Displays , 2001, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[22]  John J. Bertin,et al.  The semiology of graphics , 1983 .

[23]  Hans-Jörg Schulz,et al.  The Great Wall of Space-Time , 2012, VMV.

[24]  Jin Chen,et al.  A Visualization System for Space-Time and Multivariate Patterns (VIS-STAMP) , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[25]  M. Sheelagh T. Carpendale,et al.  A Review of Temporal Data Visualizations Based on Space-Time Cube Operations , 2014, EuroVis.

[26]  Georges G. Grinstein,et al.  Iconographic Displays For Visualizing Multidimensional Data , 1988, Proceedings of the 1988 IEEE International Conference on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics.

[27]  Heidrun Schumann,et al.  Stacking-Based Visualization of Trajectory Attribute Data , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[28]  Ed H. Chi,et al.  A taxonomy of visualization techniques using the data state reference model , 2000, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization 2000. INFOVIS 2000. Proceedings.

[29]  J. Jacko,et al.  The human-computer interaction handbook: fundamentals, evolving technologies and emerging applications , 2002 .

[30]  Carl-Fredrik Westin,et al.  Diffusion Tensor Visualization with Glyph Packing , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[31]  Matthias Trapp,et al.  Interactive Visualization of Generalized Virtual 3D City Models using Level‐of‐Abstraction Transitions , 2012, Comput. Graph. Forum.

[32]  Susanne Barbara Bleisch,et al.  Evaluating the appropriateness of visually combining quantitative data representations with 3D desktop virtual environments using mixed methods , 2011 .

[33]  Lloyd A. Treinish.  Task-Specific Visualization Design , 1999, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[34]  Jarke J. van Wijk,et al.  Interactive Density Maps for Moving Objects , 2012, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[35]  William Wright,et al.  GeoTime Information Visualization , 2004, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization.

[36]  Heidrun Schumann,et al.  Visualizing abstract data on maps , 2004, Proceedings. Eighth International Conference on Information Visualisation, 2004. IV 2004..

[37]  Heidrun Schumann,et al.  Visualization of Time-Oriented Data , 2011, Human-Computer Interaction Series.

[38]  Matthias Trapp,et al.  Evaluating the Perceptual Impact of Rendering Techniques on Thematic Color Mappings in 3D Virtual Environments , 2013, VMV.

[39]  Benjamin B. Bederson,et al.  Does animation help users build mental maps of spatial information? , 1999, Proceedings 1999 IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization (InfoVis'99).

[40]  Melanie Tory,et al.  Visualization task performance with 2D, 3D, and combination displays , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[41]  David A. Bennett.  Preliminary results from Polar–Orbiting Satellite Data Assimilation into LAPS with Applications to Mesoscale Modeling of the San Francisco Bay Area , 2000 .

[42]  Urska Cvek,et al.  High-Dimensional Visualizations , 2002 .

[43]  Andy Cockburn,et al.  Revisiting 2D vs 3D Implications on Spatial Memory , 2004, AUIC.

[44]  Niklas Elmqvist,et al.  A Taxonomy of 3D Occlusion Management for Visualization , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[45]  Andy Cockburn,et al.  Evaluating the effectiveness of spatial memory in 2D and 3D physical and virtual environments , 2002, CHI.

[46]  Menno-Jan Kraak,et al.  Designing a visual environment for exploration of time series of remote sensing data: In search for convective clouds , 2007, Comput. Graph..

[47]  Colin Ware,et al.  Designing a better weather display , 2013, Inf. Vis..

[48]  Alex T. Pang,et al.  Glyphs for Visualizing Uncertainty in Vector Fields , 1996, IEEE Trans. Vis. Comput. Graph..

[49]  Sara Irina Fabrikant,et al.  The Role of Map Animation for Geographic Visualization , 2008 .

[50]  Colin Ware,et al.  Visualizing the underwater behavior of humpback whales , 2006, IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

[51]  James R. Eagan,et al.  Low-level components of analytic activity in information visualization , 2005, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization, 2005. INFOVIS 2005..

[52]  Tobias Isenberg,et al.  Sketchy Rendering for Information Visualization , 2012, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[53]  Bernhard Preim,et al.  Glyph-Based Visualization of Myocardial Perfusion Data and Enhancement with Contractility and Viability Information , 2008, VCBM.

[54]  Pak Chung Wong,et al.  30 Years of Multidimensional Multivariate Visualization , 1994, Scientific Visualization.

[55]  Heidrun Schumann,et al.  A History Mechanism for Visual Data Mining , 2004, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization.

[56]  M. J. Kraak,et al.  Cartography: Visualization of Geospatial Data , 1996 .

[57]  Dirk Burghardt,et al.  International Journal of Geographical Information Science , 2022 .

[58]  Helwig Hauser,et al.  Visualization and Visual Analysis of Multifaceted Scientific Data: A Survey , 2013, IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.

[59]  Heidrun Schumann,et al.  3D information visualization for time dependent data on maps , 2005, Ninth International Conference on Information Visualisation (IV'05).

[60]  William Ribarsky,et al.  Acquisition and Display of Real-Time Atmospheric Data on Terrain , 2001, VisSym.

[61]  T. Hägerstrand.  What about people in Regional Science? , 1970 .

[62]  Hong Zhou,et al.  Natural Textures for Weather Data Visualization , 2006, Tenth International Conference on Information Visualisation (IV'06).

[63]  Matthias Trapp,et al.  International Journal of Geographical Information Science , 2022 .

[64]  René Sieber,et al.  Concepts and Techniques of an Online 3D Atlas - Challenges in Cartographic 3D Geovisualization , 2012, ISoLA.

[65]  P. Rheingans,et al.  Temporal visualization of planning polygons for efficient partitioning of geo-spatial data , 2005, IEEE Symposium on Information Visualization, 2005. INFOVIS 2005..

[66]  Thomas Nocke,et al.  Information Visualization in Climate Research , 2011, 2011 15th International Conference on Information Visualisation.

[67]  Jürgen Döllner,et al.  Interactive 3D visualization of vector data in GIS , 2002, GIS '02.