EuroVis 2013 conference presentation of the ExPlates data-flow system for multidimensional visualization.

1. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
››
West Lafayette, IN, USA
»EuroVis2013»June17-21»LeipZig,Germany

2. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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Life is a journey, not a destination.

3. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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“Life is a journey, not a destination.”
― Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

4. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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visual exploration [ˈvɪʒʊəl -zjʊ- ˈɛkspləˈreɪʃən], n.
using visualization to analyze data, often without
prior knowledge or questions about the data

5. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› GOAL
» Support visual exploration by spatializing
the interaction
» Time → Space
» Externalizes not just the data,
but also the exploration process

6. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
››
PREVIEW

7. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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Why is this important?
Why is this difficult?

8. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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» Perception: many views
yield high visual clutter
» Memory: remembering
past choices and results
» Reasoning: synthesizing multiple
disparate findings is difficult

9. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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10. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› Exploration Plates (ExPlates)
» Data-flow method for visualization that
automatically spatializes interaction
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Spatialize…

11. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› Plate Anatomy
» Building block: exploration plate
– Visualization state: data, mapping, view
– Input and output ports (anchors)
– Connected by wires
» Mutating ops create new plate(s)
– Filtering, change visualization, transforms
» Invariant ops update current plate
– Color scale, viewport, formatting
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12. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› Plate Types
» Visualization plates: visual
representations of input data
» Data plates: data transformations from
input to output
» Annotation plates: add annotation to
specific locations on the canvas
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13. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
››
Output
anchors
Input
anchors
Control
area
Visualization
area
Data
wires

14. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› Canvas and Layout
» Infinitely zoomable visual canvas
– Mouse control + automatic operations
» Grid-based semi-automatic layout
– Padding for data wires
» Two ways to create new plates
– Manual (menu) or automatic (spatializing)
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15. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
››
DEMO

16. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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IMPLEMENTATION

17. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› Implementation
» Web-based system (JavaScript + SVG)
» Google Data Source API
– Google Docs (spreadsheets)
– RSS/Atom feeds
– XML files
– CSV files
» Rendering: RaphaëlJS (raphaeljs.com)
– Extensible with other SVG toolkits (D3, etc)
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18. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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19. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
››
DISCUSSION

20. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› Discussion and Limitations
» Scalability: complex exploration + size
– Zooming and panning navigation
– Web-based setting gives upper bound
» Expertise: web-based but not intended
for novice-level users
» Comparison: relation to MDV tools
– Data-flow (DataMeadow, GraphTrail)
– Dashboard/workbench (Tableau, Spotfire)
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21. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
››
CONCLUSION

22. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
›› » Spatializing exploration
– Branching visual history
– Duplicate, do not update
» Data flow system
– Automatic layout
» Multidimensional data
– Visualization + analysis
» Web-based prototype
– Live, dynamic updates

23. ›› ExPlates ›› PivotLab ›› PurdueUniversity
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Questions?
Niklas Elmqvist
Purdue University
West Lafayette, IN, USA
elm@purdue.edu
»EuroVis2013»June17-21»LeipZig,Germany
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