Project leader: Olaf Sacher (BPO)
Email:Co-Project leader: Sebastian Tusk (BPO)
Email:Staff:
- Christine Ripken
- Christian Fritzsching
The amount of biological data is continuously increasing, while novel data analysis methods become relevant. In AVATARS, we investigate the capabilities of virtual reality (VR) to analyse large and heterogeneous data. In interviews with twelve experts, we identified current challenges biologists have to face in visual analytics. The two major concerns are related to the visual analysis of large data sets and the identification of relations among different data types. VR has the potential to overcome those difficulties if the following requirements are fulfilled:
- Linking different datasets
- Overview of larger amounts of data
- Details and additional information on demand
- Low-latency data navigation
- Flexible re-ordering and grouping of data
We developed a prototype to demonstrate the potential of VR to analyse large tabular data faster than current standards. The prototype provides an overview of large tabular data and allows navigation and access to detailed information and related data types on demand.
With the large virtual space and the rich interaction modalities available in VR, we immerse biologists and reduce barriers between diverse and large data types. The first results are shown in the video above.