Computer Science Technical Reports
CS at VT

The Effects of Task, Task Mapping, and Layout Space on User Performance in Information-Rich Virtual Environments

Polys, Nicholas and Shupp, Lauren and Volpe, James and Glina, Vladimir and North, Chris (2006) The Effects of Task, Task Mapping, and Layout Space on User Performance in Information-Rich Virtual Environments . Technical Report TR-06-12, Computer Science, VT.

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Abstract

How should abstract information be displayed in Information-Rich Virtual Environments (IRVEs)? There are a variety of techniques available, and it is important to determine which techniques help foster a user’s understanding both within and between abstract and spatial information types. Our evaluation compared two such techniques: Object Space and Display Space. Users strongly prefer Display Space over Object Space, and those who use Display Space may perform better. Display Space was faster and more accurate than Object Space for tasks comparing abstract information. Object Space was more accurate for comparisons of spatial information. These results suggest that for abstract criteria, visibility is a more important requirement than perceptual coupling by depth and association cues. They also support the value of perceptual coupling for tasks with spatial criteria.

Item Type:Departmental Technical Report
Keywords:Information-Rich Virtual Environments, Information Visualization, Desktop Virtual Environments, Object Space, Display Space, chemical informatics, molecular graphics.
Subjects:Computer Science > Human Computer Interaction
Computer Science > Information Visualization
Computer Science > Virtual Environments
ID Code:857
Deposited By:Polys F., Dr. Nicholas
Deposited On:31 January 2013