Data Visualization Using Figural Animation

One of the important objectives of business data visualization for decision making is to assist the user in their cognition and recall of prominent features and patterns of data. In this study, we extend Chernoff faces to full-featured animated figures to represent multi-dimensional data. A prototype has been developed that allows the user to easily assign data attributes to figural features as well as superimpose the data values. Once these settings have been made and the temporal dimension assigned, the animation is rendered through Poser and the video is embedded within the user interface. The figural animation contains VCR-type controls allowing the user to examine any particular data point or play any portion of the video at various speeds. A series of tests are being designed to determine if the application enhances the user’s ability to recall and display patterns in data.