VISGIS: Dynamic situated visualization for geographic information systems

Situated Visualization techniques are visualization techniques that provide a presentation of information within its spatial context. Situated Visualization techniques have several advantages compared to traditional visualization techniques with the biggest advantage being providing the spatial relationship between data and the actual environment. However, Situated Visualization techniques are also subject to several challenges. In particular, Situated Visualization of data from geographic information systems (GIS) is exposed to a set of problems, such as limited visibility, legibility, information clutter and the limited understanding of spatial relationships. In this paper, we address the challenges of visibility, information clutter and understanding of spatial relationships with a set of dynamic Situated Visualization techniques that address the special needs of Situated Visualization of GIS data in particular for 'street-view'-like perspectives as used for many navigation applications. The proposed techniques include dynamic annotation placement, dynamic label alignment and occlusion culling. We applied those techniques for two types of Situated Visualizations: Augmented Reality visualization and Indirect Augmented Reality using 360 Degree footage.