We present V-Mail, a framework of cross-platform applications, interactive techniques, and communication protocols for improved multi-person correspondence about spatial 3D datasets. Inspired by the daily use of e-mail, V-Mail seeks to enable a similar style of rapid, multi-person communication accessible on any device; however, it aims to do this in the new context of spatial 3D communication, where limited access to 3D graphics hardware typically prevents such communication. The approach integrates visual data storytelling with data exploration, spatial annotations, and animated transitions. V-Mail "data stories" are exported in a standard video file format to establish a common baseline level of access on (almost) any device. The V-Mail framework also includes a series of complementary client applications and plugins that enable different degrees of story co-authoring and data exploration, adjusted automatically to match the capabilities of various devices. A lightweight, phone-based V-Mail app makes it possible to annotate data by adding captions to the video. These spatial annotations are then immediately accessible to team members running high-end 3D graphics visualization systems that also include a V-Mail client, implemented as a plugin. Results and evaluation from applying V-Mail to assist communication within an interdisciplinary science team studying Antarctic ice sheets confirm the utility of the asynchronous, cross-platform collaborative framework while also highlighting some current limitations and opportunities for future work.

Virtual reality (VR) environments are typically designed so users feel present in a single virtual world at a time, but this creates a problem for applications that require visual comparisons (e.g., forest scientists comparing multiple data-driven virtual forests). To address this, we present Worlds-in-Wedges, a 3D user interface and visualization technique that supports comparative immersive visualization by dividing the virtual space surrounding the user into volumetric wedges. There are three visual/interactive levels. The first, worlds-in-context, visualizes high-level relationships between the worlds (e.g., a map for worlds that are related in space). The second level, worlds-in-miniature, is a multi-instance implementation of the World-in-Miniature technique extended to support mutlivari-ate glyph visualization. The third level, worlds-in-wedges, displays multiple large-scale worlds in wedges that act as volumetric portals. The interface supports navigation, selection, and view manipulation. Since the techniques were inspired directly by problems facing forest scientists, the interface was evaluated by building a complete multivariate data visualization of the US Forest Service Forest Inventory and Analysis public dataset. Scientist user feedback and lessons from iterative design are reported.

Augmented reality(AR) provides a unique viewing experience at museums where people understand abstract history through physical artifacts. Although AR usage in museum settings has been increasing, it is not well understood how AR viewing experience differs in different groups of visitors, which can be problematic considering that museums are places visited by diverse groups of people. In this study, we evaluate the differences in AR experiences according to the characteristics of the visitors. The results show the effect of AR usage in museum settings with visitors’ different age groups and motivations for visiting.