Information visualization presents data as visual representations to aid understanding. It’s used in troubleshooting, weather maps, and geospatial technology. It’s a cognitive science based on information design and computer graphics and is used in crime analysis, war planning, and environmentalism.
A picture is worth a thousand words. Information visualization is the method of presenting information as a visual representation to aid in understanding unrelated data items. This helps correlate random data relationships into examples of meaningful information.
In the area of troubleshooting, visual representations of data have proven to be the most effective way to communicate information. Information visualization is used daily throughout society in the form of weather maps, geospatial technology, charts and maps. The primary benefit of using images to represent data is the unique ability to quickly disseminate relevant information versus the interpretation provided by reading basic words and numbers.
The art of information visualization has become a mainstay within the computing community. It is considered a cognitive science that is based on the area of information design and computer graphics. The idea behind information graphics is to present an image to represent a process, which is easier for the human brain to understand than reading text.
The natural disaster and weather monitoring community was one of the first industries to use information visualization. By presenting the entire world as a map of sensors, monitoring water temperature, jet stream motion and seismographic readout, humans can quickly identify complicated data items with impending disasters. This process has transformed millions of data items and actual landmarks into an understandable map that presents weather trends in a visual representation.
Information graphics are another example of information visualization at its most simplistic. This type of visual representation can be seen in road signs, street signs, maps, and instruction manuals. Crime analysis and war planning are both areas where complex non-relational data needs to be correlated and interpreted to determine the best action to deploy resources in critical areas. Visualization techniques help authorities better understand the relationships and infrastructure of multiple data elements and allow them to better prepare and deploy resources.
Environmentalists have found that the use of geovisualization techniques has resulted in a better understanding of impacts on natural resources around the world. By implementing time-sensitive maps or transforming the view of forest erosion, oil depletion and natural resource utilization, governments gain a better understanding of the impacts of depletion of natural resources available to humans. Presenting information as simple facts and figures usually doesn’t lead to the understanding needed for complex problems.
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