TimeTables: Embodied Exploration of Immersive Spatio-Temporal Data

Yidan Zhang, Barrett Ens, Kadek Ananta Satriadi, Arnaud Prouzeau, Sarah Goodwin

IEEE Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces. Christchurch, New Zealand. 2022.

We propose TimeTables, a novel prototype system that aims to support data exploration, using embodiment with space-time cubes in virtual reality. TimeTables uses multiple space-time cubes on virtual tabletops, which users can manipulate by extracting time layers or individual buildings to create new tabletop views. The surrounding environment includes a large space for multiple linked tabletops and a storage wall. TimeTables presents information at different time scales by stretching layers to drill down in time. Users can also jump into tabletops to inspect data from an egocentric perspective. We present a use case scenario of energy consumption displayed on a university campus to demonstrate how our system could support data exploration and analysis over space and time. From our experience and analysis we believe the system has a high potential in assisting spatio-temporal data exploration and analysis.

Honorable Mention Nomination

The figure above shows a use case of our prototype system. (1) Pick up building model to show building name and basic information. (2) Investigate monthly data in 2019. (3) Compare energy consumption of Building A in February 2020 with that in February 2019. (3) Explore the energy consumption of Building A in June 2020. (5)Compare energy consumption of two buildings. (6) Compare the hourly data of two buildings from Thursday in week 3 of June 2019.