Mixed Reality Techniques for Visualizations in a 3D Information Space

With 3D information space we denote a three-dimensional visualization that contains 2D visualizations and puts them in a semantic context. In this paper, we show how Mixed Reality (MR) can be exploited as a technology in order to realize better interaction in a 3D information space and, as a result, to develop new interactive visualization techniques. Here, the real space is used as a metaphor for interacting with the 3D information space. In this context, we present MR based interaction techniques for basic operations like locate, slice, manipulate, freeze and compare. In addition, we examine the hardware set-up that serves as a framework for user interaction and present a novel systems approach how to technically implement the MR based visualization system. Our evaluation shows advantages of our interaction techniques like the direct experience of distances in 3D information space, the usage of a real frame of reference for virtual visualizations, or the intuitive specification of positions and orientations.