NaturalMotion : Exploring Gesture Controls for Visualizing Time-Evolving Graphs

We are investigating new ways for people to explore time-evolving graph data represented as the recently-introduced Matrix Cube, through natural gestures in a 3D environment. In the cube, one axis is time, and the other two axes comprise an adjacency matrix of a graph. We want to understand how recent advances in virtual reality technologies may help the user more naturally explore the dimensionality and richness of this 3D visualization, enabling them to more effectively gain insights into relationships and anomalies in the data. We use a Leap Motion controller to capture the user’s hand gestures that manipulate the cube into its many possible projections. We prototyped this synergy of data visualization and virtual reality on a time-evolving graph of annual trading volumes among major countries from 1995 through 2010. Please see the accompanying video for a demo of our prototype.1