Voeis - Visualization

The goal of data visualization is to provide the scientists who better understand the data improved tools so they can better understand the underlying processes, how the lake is changing over time and how it changes from day to day. Visualization is really, really important because even if you're a brilliant scientist, looking at a bunch of numbers or trying to figure out graphs is a lot different than looking at a picture or being able to see an image from various views. Exploratory visualization plays an important role in effective and efficient analysis toward an improved understanding of such bio-ecological environments. The visualization aspect has actually two components, I would say. One is that it is trying to come up with new ways of showing patterns. But there's also aspects of the data collection that we're working with, particularly with the Kentucky Lake, where they're actually taking video of what's going on at the lake, or at least images that they're currently collecting, and then making that available as well. That provides another way for us to visually analyze what's going on on the lake. What I'm standing next to is basically a high-definition television that displays some of the visualizations that we're able to put together as a result of information that would go in a system like VOEIS. When you visualize information, it's a lot more important to focus on the overall process of what you're seeing rather than focusing on individual little pieces. So it allows you to see emergent properties of a system as a whole. Nathan Jacobs: We're building these software packages that allow us to visualize the data, and working directly with the scientists who better understand the data to make sure that these visualizations are meaningful.