Object-centric temporal navigation for dynamic information visualizations.

Abstract

We introduce object-centric temporal navigation for time-varying information visualizations. In our approach, navigation through time is controlled by interacting directly with any data item, enabling simultaneous exploration of the time dimension while focusing on the changing item. Subtle visualizations of a data item’s temporal trend are provided to guide navigation. To demonstrate how object-centric navigation can be designed for different types of dynamic visualizations, we created two techniques: DimpVis, for exploring changing visual variables in different information visualizations, and Glidgets, for exploring topological changes in dynamic graphs. Both techniques enable intuitive investigation of spatial queries. For example, using DimpVis to answer “Was this bar ever at 500?” in an animated bar chart, one simply has to drag the bar to that height. Comparative task-based evaluations revealed that DimpVis was quantitatively competitive to existing navigation techniques. Additionally, both Glidgets and DimpVis were overall subjectively preferred over the time slider by participants.