VR Data Visualisation

OUTDATED - NEEDS UPDATING

Quick overview of the implementation of the VR Data Visualisation Tool in AFRAME.

How to plot:

1. Choose whether you want gaze control or trigger control. This can be changed by clicking the switch button on the left-hand wall after loading the room.
2. Load in the data on the wall you want to display the data on by clicking on the corresponding load button.
3. Plot the data
   • Choose a variable with the up an down buttons on the variable wheel (central left on the wall). The chosen variable is highlighted by a red frame.
   • Choose the axis you want to plot the variable on by clicking on the button with the corresponding label. The currently active axis is highlighted by a red frame.
   • Plot the data to the chosen axis by clicking on the plot triangle. This has to be repeated for every axis.

Functionalities:

You start out in the center of an octagonal room. On each of these walls, data can be displayed using the buttons visible on each of them.

• Switch control mode: The switch button on the walls between the plot walls allow the switch between control modes. The default mode is gaze control in which clickable objects can be interacted with by hovering with the cursor over them for at least 1500 ms. By changing the control mode to touch control allows the interaction with clickable objects by a touch anywhere on the screen, e.g. with the trigger button on a Google Cardboard VR headset.
• Load Data: The load button on the plot wall loads the data and pre-generates the data point objects invisibly. A circular progress indicator informs about the loading progress.
• Clear Data: The clear button clears the data from the current plot area and resets it to the two dimensional plot space.
• Inspect Plot Area: The inspect button casts the plot area to the center of the virtual room to be inspected from all sides.
• Variable Selection: By use of the up and down arrows above and below the selection wheel, the active variable can be changed.
• Axis Selection: By clicking on an axis button the plot arrow moves to the selected axis button to indicate the selection.
• Plotting: The plot triangle button plots the active variable to the selected axis in the plot area. Plotting a variable to the z-axis changes the plot area into a cube and adds color to the data points. This color is mapped to the value of the variable mapped to the z-axis to enhance visual distinction.
• Help: The help button triggers help messages to assist navigating the controls.
• Movement: Movement in the virtual room is possible via a teleporting function. Looking at the floor highlights a tile and triggering a click teleports the user to the highlighted tile.