Developing efficient visualizations and simplifying information presentation

While growing up in Sweden, Dr. Niklas Elmqvist of the University of Maryland enjoyed an interest in Nintendo gaming systems and video games in general. One day his father replaced the Nintendo with a Commodore 64, an early home computer complete with keyboard and what was then a high-resolution display. It didn't take Dr. Elmqvist long before he realized that he could extend his gaming interests to building games himself. This began a passion for programming and game development that continued through his tenure at university. While game development seemed to be the most logical career path upon completing his undergraduate degree, Dr. Elmqvist was hesitant to abandon the academic atmosphere he had learned to love and chose instead to pursue his Ph.D. Today, he is able to work as an associate professor at the University of Maryland in the United States and retain the scientific work environment while still exploring his true passion in computer graphics and human-computer interaction.

With the exponential growth of technology and its capacity to store permanent records of all of its computational data, we are facing a world of constant information overload. Valuable information and insights are often hidden in this flood of data, but the sheer volume and complexity of the data makes it difficult for humans to uncover these insights. Dr. Elmqvist believes that visualization can help in this process by using interactive graphical representations to aid the user's understanding. Vision is our most powerful sensory system and allows people to quickly see trends, patterns, and outliers in such visual representations; after all, as the old saying goes, "picture is worth a thousand words".

Some examples of Dr. Elmqvist's current research include the following projects:

  • The way we relate to data, objects, and other people in our physical surroundings reveals our intention. Dr. Elmqvist is working on a project in collaboration with University of Manitoba in Canada on the topic of "proxemics", where people use body language to interact with information presented on large wall displays. A motion-sensing camera tracks how a person reacts to a large visualization display presented on the screen, for example an analysis of a company's stock. Clues are then taken from body movement and position, where stepping back from the display signifies scanning, which would prompt a zooming out of the visualization. Conversely, leaning towards the display suggests focusing to provide detailed information. This analysis is taken further when two people are observing the display. If two subjects stand alongside one another, they are likely collaborating; if they turn to face one another, a discussion or negotiation seems imminent. This analysis provides insight for building interactive visualizations that react to users.

  • Consumer reviews are being published at a rapidly increasing rate as they gain popularity and relevance in supporting individuals in their online purchasing habits. However, the sheer number of reviews for a product often limit their usefulness since a consumer cannot be expected to read and understand them all. Dr. Elmqvist is involved in a number of projects for summarizing this kind of textual information and presenting it through visualization. For example, by connecting different concepts that people talk about in product reviews and showing their sentiment (positive or negative), consumers can get a better understanding of good and bad features of the product.

  • Dr. Elmqvist is also collaborating with the Department of Homeland Security for law enforcement applications. Mobile technology now allows even a police officer on the street to have access to records of criminal activity at his or her fingertips, but information overload makes sorting through and finding the desired information difficult. A recent visualization tool that Dr. Elmqvist has been involved with allows police officers to see graphical overviews of this data on an interactive map using their smartphone. Not only does this eliminate the need for special equipment, but it also gives officers efficient access to information anywhere and anytime they have their cellphone.

Big data is meaningless if people cannot absorb and understand it. Presenting data in an accessible and understandable format should therefore be of highest priority. Dr. Elmqvist's research on visualization is reducing the harmful effects of information overload using interactive graphic displays. This research has a wide variety of applications, from product reviews to healthcare as well as law enforcement to finance. In other words, nearly any industry or entity that wishes to synthesize and present information efficiently can benefit from this research. For example, we are already seeing newspapers such as the New York Times and the Washington Post routinely include visualizations in their articles, and businesses are increasingly turning to visual representations to plan their next moves.

Dr. Elmqvist is a Swedish native, and completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at the Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden.

Existing sponsors for Dr. Elmqvist's research include the U.S. National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Google, Microsoft, and NVidia.

Dr. Elmqvist believes in the "citizen of the future", who is able to be smarter, not just faster and stronger by using approachable, interactive, and intuitive visualizations.

Two provisional patents are filed under Dr. Elmqvist's name:

  • A Method for Visualizing the Results of an Electronic Search. M. Boutin, S. Biddanda, N. Elmqvist, D. Ebert. Filed May 26, 2010. Application number 61/348,542, provisional patent.

  • Distributed Computing to Analyze Transitory Imagery Data. Y.-H. Lu, E. Delp, N. Elmqvist, D. Ebert. Filed April 17, 2013. Application number 61/812,760, provisional patent.

 

Curriculum Vitae

MIT Technology Review article on Dr. Niklas Elmqvist's work

DISCOVER magazine article on Dr. Elmqvist's work

Purdue News release on Dr. Niklas Elmqvist's work

Purdue Graduate Student Mentoring Award

2014

NSF Career

U.S. National Science Foundation

Best Paper Award

ASME Conference on IDETC/CIE awarded for "Shapeshift: Suggesting Sustainable Options in Design Reuse from Part Repositories"

IEEE TVCG Best Reviewer Award

Institute of Electronics Engineers

IEEE Senior Membership

Institute of Electronics Engineers