Modeling Multimodal Interactions and Feedback for Embodied Geovisualization

Abstract

Modern wearable devices, especially those aimed at enabling Augmented and Virtual Reality, permit an increasing number of ways to translate data about us and our surroundings into sensory impressions. This is especially useful for geospatial data – data that already has a location in the environment. In the same way that a modern weather map translates simulation results into red, blue, and green pixels, we could now, for example, translate air quality data in a user’s vicinity into an audio rhythm, creating a sort of virtual Geiger counter not limited to ambient ionizing radiation. However, there are currently few conceptual tools that help with designing these kinds of multisensory representations. This poster shows preliminary work on a type of diagram specifically aimed at modelling the interactions and feedback loops between these interactive, embodied visualizations and the human body.