Navigating effectively in virtual environments at human scales is a difficult problem. However, it is even more difficult to navigate in large-scale virtual environments such as those simulating the physical Universe; the huge spatial range of astronomical simulations and the dominance of empty space make it hard for users to acquire reliable spatial knowledge of astronomical contexts. This paper introduces a careful combination of navigation and visualization techniques to resolve the unique problems of large-scale real-time exploration in terms of travel and wayfinding. For large-scale travel, spatial scaling techniques and constrained navigation manifold methods are adapted to the large spatial scales of the virtual Universe. We facilitate large-scale wayfinding and context awareness using visual cues such as power-of-10 reference cubes, continuous exponential zooming into points of interest, and a scalable world-in-miniature (WIM) map. These methods enable more effective exploration and assist with accurate context-model building, thus leading to improved understanding of virtual worlds in the context of large-scale astronomy.

Date Published: 16 January 2006
PDF: 10 pages
Proc. SPIE 6060, Visualization and Data Analysis 2006, 60600K (16 January 2006); doi: 10.1117/12.648287

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 6060:
Visualization and Data Analysis 2006
Robert F. Erbacher; Jonathan C. Roberts; Matti T. Gröhn; Katy Börner, Editor(s)