This thesis proposes a novel concept for managing large volumes of imagery data through a web-based 3D virtual environment, and describes the development of a prototype system for demonstrate the feasibility of this concept. The system, called Vista, allows users to upload imagery data (such as images, videos and presentations) through a web browser, and the data are automatically placed into virtual galleries, cinemas and studios. The environment modifies itself dynamically to accommodate addition and deletion of imagery data. The system empowers ordinary users to utilise the Internet as a global data repository and showplace and provides an intuitive and stimulating way to visualise and explore large volumes of imagery data. It removes the burden of non-trivial management of large volumes of data, including ontological organisation of users files and geometrical design of the virtual environment. Several advanced interaction techniques have been developed to support such a virtual environment. In particular, the concept of treemaps has been adapted to provide global view of a virtual environment, resulting in a new visual representation, warped treemap, which has been used as a navigation atlas. Many adaptive features have been incorporated into the prototypes for improving the general usability and reducing users cognitive loading. In addition, several interesting and useful metaphors, such as virtual archives and space-warp zones have been introduced. Such a technology not only offers users a novel and intuitive experience of interacting with computers, but also provides a convenient tool for managing huge volumes of data in a largely automatic manner. In addition, the use of the technology can be extended to other applications, including commercial sectors (e.g., housing), industrial sectors (e.g., inspection), health care (e.g., medical images) and public sectors (e.g., archiving and museums).
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:639078 |
| Date | January 2006 |
| Creators | Smith, A. |
| Publisher | Swansea University |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
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