VR 3D visualization interface

Human activities produce large amounts of data, from online transactions to scientific experiments, this vast trove of information is being collected on a daily basis and great efforts are being made to produce tools to analyze it, in an attempt to gather insight and knowledge from this inexhaustible source. The use of 3D techniques to display information, and sorting techniques to arrange it are not new. Node-edge graphs predate computers, but their visualization in real-time, three-dimensional virtual reality is quite recent. Some efforts have been conducted by visualization researchers to verify the validity of these techniques, and some HCI experiments have been carried out in navigating 3D spaces. This paper describes a HCI framework to facilitate engagement in an immersive 3D virtual reality (VR) visualization, by means of a compound control system consisting of existing technologies, for navigation and highlighting, and a purpose built controller for selection and manipulation of data; within a software environment that was built using an existing real time 3D game engine.