Research On Visualization Of Network Topology In Immersive Environment

Immersive analytics has natural advantages in terms of immersive spatial awareness,user engagement,multi-dimensional interaction.Immersive virtual reality environments are highly beneficial for information visualization due to the increased depth of cues.While the idea of visual analysis of network structures in an immersive environment is appealing,the challenge remains to make full use of dimensional spatial features and to design flexible gestural interactions.Based on the basic theory of network visualization and immersive analysis,this paper focuses on multidimensional layouts and gestural interactions in the visualization of immersive network structures.In order to achieve a progressive exploration of network structures and correlations,a network topology layout incorporating different dimensions and an immersive3 D edge-bound layout are proposed.A natural gestural interaction paradigm for network topology analysis in immersive environments is also proposed,inspired by everyday interactions.The contributions of this paper are focused on three aspects of the study of network topology visualization in immersive environments.(1)Visual layout of immersive network topology.To address the problem that different dimensional spatial layouts are separated from each other and some of the edge-bound layouts lose topological features,an immersive dimensional fusion network topology layout based on modularity matrix and force-oriented layout is proposed,and the two-dimensional forceoriented edge-bound layout is extended to a three-dimensional immersive environment based on the edge aggregation strategy to achieve an edge-bound layout that preserves the structural features of the network,completing an incremental exploration of the network topology and association patterns.(2)What You Touch Is What You Get Immersive Network Gesture Interaction.To address the problem that traditional single-channel interaction methods such as mouse and keyboard cannot meet the needs of immersive network topology analysis,a gesture comfort assessment model is proposed to guide the design of gesture actions based on the concept of WYTIWYG.From the perspectives of general interaction,specific interaction and assisted interaction,the interaction requirements of network analysis are bound to the semantics of gesture actions,and a paradigm of WYTIWYG immersive network gesture interaction is proposed.Experimental evaluation results show that the gestural interaction paradigm is more useful for analyzing and sensing the network topology in an immersive environment.(3)Immersive network topology visualization system.To address the need for lightweight application tools in immersive network topology visualization,we designed and implemented an immersive WYSIWYG network topology visualization system based on a B/S architecture using immersive analysis and visualization techniques based on a consumer-grade immersive device,Oculus Rift + Leap Motion.Just like interaction in the real world,node movement,rotation,highlighting,layout transformation,edge binding and other graphical visualization operations can be performed in the immersive environment through flexible interactive gestures.Separate case studies based on social networks,brain networks and scholar networks have been conducted and the effectiveness of the system has been verified through feasibility studies.