A 3D Virtual Environment for Spatio-Temporal Analysis: Theoretical Approach, Proof of Concept, and User Study

Abstract

We present a 3D virtual environment leveraging 3D game dynamics for statistical analysis on spatio-temporal (ST) data. We present a theoretical construct, a proof-of-concept implementation (STWorld), and preliminary results from a human-computer interaction (HCI) study. Results include a novel integration of the Unity game engine with open source tools PostGreSQL, R, and the D3.js graphics library. Preliminary results suggest that STWorld may be judged more enjoyable and incur better procedural memory retention than traditional dashboard interfaces. We conclude with findings on gender bias and the gap between gamers and non-gamers.