Conversational visual analytics (CVA) make data exploration accessible to novices but often leave users disoriented during multi-turn conversations. Previous approaches provide data-centric recommendations, but fail to help users regain orientations. To bridge this gap, we conducted a formative study (N = 12) revealing that novices are insensitive to analytical cues and rely on vague queries, leading to disorientation and task failures. In contrast, experts are sensitive to two types of analytical cues and use seven types of queries to organize workflows. Based on these findings, we propose ToA, a novel approach that structures the CVA process as an interactive analysis tree. Moreover, we visualize this tree, with AI outputs as nodes (containing two cue types) and user queries as edges (categorized by seven query types), to provide novices with an overview of their analysis journey. We evaluated ToA through user studies (N = 12) and expert interviews (N = 3). The results suggest that ToA eliminates task failure and increases per-turn insights (+58.3%), despite longer per-turn thinking time (+17.7%). Expert interviews further confirm its potential to democratize visual analytics.

Propagation analysis refers to studying how information spreads on social media, a pivotal endeavor for understanding social sentiment and public opinions. Numerous studies contribute to visualizing information spread, but few have considered the implicit and complex diffusion patterns among multiple platforms. To bridge the gap, we summarize cross-platform diffusion patterns with experts and identify significant factors that dissect the mechanisms of cross-platform information spread. Based on that, we propose an information diffusion model that estimates the likelihood of a topic/post spreading among different social media platforms. Moreover, we propose a novel visual metaphor that encapsulates cross-platform propagation in a manner analogous to the spread of seeds across gardens. Specifically, we visualize platforms, posts, implicit cross-platform routes, and salient instances as elements of a virtual ecosystem - gardens, flowers, winds, and seeds, respectively. We further develop a visual analytic system, namely BloomWind, that enables users to quickly identify the cross-platform diffusion patterns and investigate the relevant social media posts. Ultimately, we demonstrate the usage of BloomWind through two case studies and validate its effectiveness using expert interviews.

The emergence of intelligent prostheses has facilitated the life and work of disabled patients. The interaction aspect of prostheses has become a highlight research topic in the field of rehabilitation robotics. However, most of the existing prosthetic interaction methods focus on the use of myoelectricity to classify finite gestures, rather than continuous (infinite) force detection, which greatly limits the use of prosthetic scenarios. In this study, a novel optical waveguide sensor was used to collect muscle deformation information from the human arm for continuous control of the prosthetic grip force. The optical waveguide sensor was embedded with carbon fiber to limit the stretching of the waveguide, which led to the optical waveguide sensor being sensitive to bending deformation. Compared with EMGs, the accuracy of continuous grip force control based on the optical waveguide sensor is higher. The R-Square for prosthetic grip force and hand grip force were 0.867 and 0.9724 in the periodic and sustaining grip force experiments, respectively. The results suggested that the proposed method could provide a new approach to the interaction of prostheses.

In team sports like basketball, understanding and executing tactics—coordinated plans of movements among players—are crucial yet complex, requiring extensive practice. These tactics require players to develop a keen sense of spatial and situational awareness. Traditional coaching methods, which mainly rely on basketball tactic boards and video instruction, often fail to bridge the gap between theoretical learning and the real-world application of tactics, due to shifts in view perspectives and a lack of direct experience with tactical scenarios. To address this challenge, we introduce VisCourt, a Mixed Reality (MR) tactic training system, in collaboration with a professional basketball team. To set up the MR training environment, we employed semi-automatic methods to simulate realistic 3D tactical scenarios and iteratively designed visual in-situ guidance. This approach enables full-body engagement in interactive training sessions on an actual basketball court and provides immediate feedback, significantly enhancing the learning experience. A user study with athletes and enthusiasts shows the effectiveness and satisfaction with VisCourt in basketball training and offers insights for the design of future SportsXR training systems.

Participation in sports provides individuals with disabilities opportunities for social inclusion, improved physical and mental health, skill development, and increased self-confidence, ultimately empowering them. Sitting volleyball, a popular para-sport adapted from traditional volleyball, has been played in more than 75 countries since its development in 1956. However, the limited availability of dedicated sitting volleyball courts creates a significant gap for individuals with disabilities interested in playing the sport. To address the challenges encountered by amateur sitting volleyball players due to the lack of specialized facilities, we encompass a pioneering design study on VR para-sports training and introduce VolleyNaut - an innovative virtual reality (VR) training system. Developed in close collaboration with professional coaches, this immersive system faithfully replicates the daily drills and realistic ball pitches experienced by players. It offers four specialized basic defensive drill scenarios, contributing to skill adjustment and enhancement. In our user study, we recruited volleyball players from college teams and clubs to assess the engagement factor of VolleyNaut, and we also included national sitting volleyball players and coaches to evaluate the system’s effectiveness as a training tool. Our comprehensive analysis, combining quantitative and qualitative data, revealed consistently positive results across all user groups.