Uncertainty Visualization

Description of Research

The level of data uncertainty can be a crucial component in making an informed decision. If the goal of visualization is to provide insight into data, then the certainty of that data should also be presented. From MRIs used by medical professionals to wind speeds used by fire-fighters, misconstrued confidence or simply a lack of consideration of data uncertainty can have life threatening implications. Nevertheless, the presentation of information certainty (or the lack thereof) can be difficult when the mere problem of effectively presenting absolute data alone necessitates a complex solution. Whether ignoring uncertainty or presenting it while sacrificing another data variable, the consequences of incomplete information may be unacceptable for the intended viewer. Though the field of uncertainty visualization has made great strides recently, more techniques are needed for scenarios that reach the limitations of current visualization methods.

 
 
Flow-based Scatterplots for Sensitivity Analysis
Yu-Hsuan Chan, Carlos Correa, and Kwan-Liu Ma
In Proceedings of 2010 IEEE Symposium on Visual Analytics Science and Technology (Vast 2010)
IEEE, October, 2010, pp. 43--50
Visualization of multi-dimensional data is challenging due to the number of complex correlations that may be present in the data but that are difficult to be visually identified. One of the main causes for this problem is the inherent loss of information that occurs when high-dimensional data is projected into 2D or 3D. Although 2D scatterplots are ubiquitous due to their simplicity and familiarity, there are not a lot of variations on their basic metaphor. In this paper, we present a new way of visualizing multi-dimensional data using scatterplots. We extend 2D scatterplots using sensitivity coefficients to highlight local variation of one variable with respect to another. When applied to a scatterplot, these sensitivities can be understood as velocities, and the resulting visualization resembles a flow field. We also present a number of operations, based on flow-field analysis, that help users navigate, select and cluster points in an efficient manner. We show the flexibility and generality of this approach using a number of multidimensional data sets across different domains. ...
[ PDF ] [ BibTeX ] [ Project Page ]
 
A Framework for Uncertainty Aware Visual Analytics
Carlos Correa, Yu-Hsuan Chan, and Kwan-Liu Ma
In Proceedings of 2009 IEEE Symposium on Visual Analytics Science and Technology (Vast 2009)
IEEE, October, 2009, pp. 51-58
Visual analytics has become an important tool for gaining insight on large and complex collections of data. Numerous statistical tools and data transformations, such as projections, binning and clustering, have been coupled with visualization to help analysts understand data better and faster. However, data is inherently uncertain, due to error, noise or unreliable sources. When making decisions based on uncertain data, it is important to quantify and present to the analyst both the aggregated uncertainty of the results and the impact of the sources of that uncertainty ...
[ PDF ] [ BibTeX ] [ Project Page ]
 
Multiple Uncertainties in Time-Variant Cosmological Particle Data
Steve Haroz, Kwan-Liu Ma, and Katrin Heitmann
In Proceedings of
Pacific Visualization, March, 2008
We utilize multiple views for interactive dataset exploration and selection of important features, and we apply those techniques to the unique challenges of cosmological particle datasets. We show how interactivity and incorporation of multiple visualization techniques help overcome the problem of limited visualization dimensions and allow many types of uncertainty to be seen in correlation with other variables. ...
[ PDF ] [ BibTeX ] [ Project Page ]
 
Back to Page Top