Visualizing Motion: A Framework for the Cartography of Movement

University Of California-Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara CA

Investigators

Abstract

This project will examine how motion as a phenomenon, with complex space and time dimensions, is effectively represented in geographic visual displays. It will develop visualization methods and tools to map movement patterns and interaction between individuals. These tools are essential for hypothesis generation and visual communication for studying a variety of applications related to social and ecological systems. Vast amounts of information on bodies and objects in motion is now collected at very high spatial and temporal resolutions. These data have the potential to inform critical areas related to global movements of humans and goods, disease outbreak, impact of transportation changes on urban traffic, or effects of human activity on endangered species. Effective visual representations of motion are needed to reveal and communicate complex patterns and processes of societal importance. This project will contribute insights into how humans perceive movement patterns and advance knowledge on the effectiveness of different cartographic techniques in mapping interaction in motion. The theory, methods, and tools developed by this project can be used broadly to map and study movement across diverse disciplines such as geographic information science (GIS), ecology, transportation, and health. Through collaboration with industry, this study will bridge the gap between academic research and industry by contributing new cartographic techniques to existing commercial GIS software products which are used by researchers, policy makers, students, and others worldwide. Undergraduate and graduate students will be trained for research in STEM, partnering with industry, writing scientific publications, and developing geographic visualization tools. The visualization methods and tools will be made publicly available and used for training students to develop maps in motion through classroom settings and outreach activities. This research will create a new theoretical framework for the cartography of movement and test it on examples taken from movement ecology and human mobility. It will investigate two overarching research questions: (1) What are fundamental visual principles and design elements for representing motion in accurate and effective ways? (2) How can representation of motion advance our knowledge and understanding of interaction? By addressing these two research questions, this research will contribute new cartographic methods to facilitate effective transformation of raw movement data into useful knowledge of motion in different contexts (i.e. animal and human movements). To assess the efficacy of the proposed framework and the usability of developed methods, a series of evaluative user studies and eye-tracking experiments will be conducted. User study experiments will generate guidelines on effective and more plausible ways of communicating movement patterns. As a research use case, this research will investigate the question of how visualization of motion helps to understand species interaction, in this case endangered tigers in Thailand. Although this research focuses on the cartography of motion, it will contribute methods and techniques to advance the understanding of interaction between individuals in dynamic social and ecological systems. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.