Xgobi vs the C2: Results of an experiment comparing data visualization in a 3-D virtual reality environment with a 2-D workstation display (Q1297887)

The C2 virtual environment consists of a small ``room'' with walls to the user's left, right and front. Computer images are projected stereographically on these walls. The user wears a set of stereographic glasses with a sensor which informs the system about the user's location and orientation. A data-glove which determines the position of each finger is used as an interaction tool. Abilities of this system in the investigation of multidimensional data were studied in comparison with the abilities of the XGobi software with 2-D display. In the tests, the users estimate the number of clusters in 5-D data, detect intrinsic dimensions (5-D data which were intrinsically 1-D and 2-D) and recognize 4-D sphere surfaces and 4-D balls. Grand tour and brushing techniques were used. The authors' conclusion is that C2 is more efficient in recognition but is more difficult to handle than a traditional workstation.