A case study in multi-sensory investigation of geoscientific data

Authors:
Chris Harding;Ioannis A. Kakadiaris;John F. Casey;R. Bowen Loftin
Affiliations:
Virtual Environments Research Institute and Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, TX;Virtual Environments Research Institute and Department of Computer Science, University of Houston, Houston, TX;Virtual Environments Research Institute and Department of Geosciences, University of Houston, TX;VMASC, Old Dominion University, Suffolk, VA
Venue:
EGVISSYM'01 Proceedings of the 3rd Joint Eurographics - IEEE TCVG conference on Visualization
Year:
2001

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Multi-sensory investigation of geoscientific data: adding touch and sound to three-dimentional visualization and modeling

Multi-sensory investigation of geoscientific data: adding touch and sound to three-dimentional visualization and modeling

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Abstract

In this paper, we report our ongoing research into multi-sensory investigation of geoscientific data. Our Geoscientific Data Investigation System (GDIS) integrates three-dimensional, interactive computer graphics, touch (haptics) and real-time sonification into a multi-sensory Virtual Environment. GDIS has been used to investigate geological structures on the high-resolution bathymetry data from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Haptic force feedback was used to precisely digitize line features on three-dimensional morphology and to feel surface properties via varying friction settings; additional, overlapping data can be perceived via sound (sonification). We also report on the results of a psycho-acoustic study about the absolute recognition of sound signals, and on the actual feedback that we have received from a number of geoscientists during a recent major geoscience conference.