Evaluating the Effectiveness of Representing Numeric Information Through Abstract Graphics in 3D Desktop Virtual Environments

Abstract

The use of bars to represent numeric values in desktop virtual environments that provide information in 3D through monocular depth cues is evaluated. Using empirical experiments we test hypotheses regarding the effectiveness of participants in judging the heights of different bar combinations in four different settings (static 2D and 3D desktop virtual environment with and without frames). The results show that the participants are highly successful in identifying the taller of two bars. However, there are significant differences between the static 2D and 3D desktop virtual environment settings in terms of accuracy and task completion times when comparing bars. Characteristics such as the participant's spatial abilities or the position of the bars in the landscape do not influence the effectiveness of the judgements in our study.