VisHive: Creating Ad-hoc Computational Clusters using Mobile Devices in Web-based Visualization

Current web-based visualizations are designed for single computers and cannot make use of multiple devices, even when a user has access to not only a laptop, but also a tablet and a smartphone. We present VisHive, a JavaScript toolkit for constructing web-based visualization applications that can transparently connect multiple devices—called cells—into an ad-hoc cluster—called a hive—for local computation. Cells are organized into a master-slave architecture, where the master provides the visual interface to the user and controls the slaves, and the slaves mainly perform computation. VisHive is built entirely using current web technologies, runs in the native browser of each cell device, and requires no specific download and install on the involved devices. We demonstrate VisHive using a time-series prediction visual analytics tool that utilizes connected slave cells to continuously perform additional predictions while the master awaits user input.