Geographic
Visualization (geovisualization) integrates a centuries-long tradition
in cartographic representation of geospatial information with more
recent advances in image analysis, exploratory data analysis, and
scientific visualization more generally. Virtual Environment (VE)
technology offers the potential to enhance the effectiveness of geovisualization
methods developed thus far. However, the integration of geovisualization
with VE methods raises both technical and conceptual questions that
must be addressed before this potential is realized. Three recent
papers dealing with this integration in GeoVirtual Environments are
highlighted here. All represent work that has received partial support
from the EPA-funded Apoala
Project and from the Penn State Center
for Academic Computing.
A.
Potential and Challenges of GeoVirtual Environments
GeoVirtual
Environments have considerable potential to extend the capabilities
of geographic visualization for research, learning, and decision-making.
Drawing on a series of demonstration projects and focused research
efforts, we have begun to outline
some of the key issues that must be considered to realize the potential.
The paper provided here extends ideas that we initially presented
at the 1999 Association of American Geographers meeting, (http://www.geovista.psu.edu/publications/aag99vr)
March 1999, ideas that we formalized for presentation at the ACM Workshop
on New Paradigms for information Visualization and Manipulation, Kansas
City, Nov. 6, 1999.
(http://www.geovista.psu.edu/publications/NPIVM99/ammNPIVM.pdf)
B.
Navigating GeoVirtual Environments
The
project reported upon here focuses on navigation and orientation within
desktop GeoVirtual Environments (GeoVE). It is part of a larger effort
that considers a range of GeoVEs from desktop through semi-immersive
(ImmersaDesk and Virtual Workbench) to fully immersive (CAVE) environments.
The goal that underlies the range of GeoVirtual Environments we are
developing is to facilitate both the analysis of geospatial data and
the understanding of geographic phenomena. This work was presented
at the 1999 IEEE Information Visualization Symposium in San Francisco
and is included in the Symposium Proceedings.
(http://www.geovista.psu.edu/publications/ammIV99.pdf).
C.
Design and Application of GeoVE
The
project reported on here is a collaboration between the GeoVISTA Center
and a team of researchers in the Netherlands. Their GeoVE focus has
been on linking virtual environment methods with CAD and GIS for application
to urban and regional planning. In this paper, we focus on integrating
what has been learned through those experiences with our work on linking
virtual environment methods with scientific visualization tools for
application to scientific data exploration. This paper was presented
at and included in the 1999 International Cartographic Association
Conference Proceedings. (http://www.geovista.psu.edu/publications/ica99/)
