Visualizing Data is an integral part of Big Data projects which involve large- scale analytical operations to draw insights from the ever-increasing amount of digital data that is being generated and stored. There are limitations in the amount of data which the human eye can absorb from a flat computer screen. This is where Augmented Reality plays an important role in helping users to understand and analyze Big Data. Augmented Reality immerses the user in a digitally created space with a 360-degree field of vision and simulated movement in three dimensions. This process significantly increases the bandwidth of data which becomes available to our brains.
Using Augmented Reality (AR) in Data Visualization helps to take care of issues such as narrow visual angle, navigation, scaling and limitations in human perception. For example, by wearing the HoloLens Headset, users can have a full 360-degree view, thereby solving the visual angle problem. Not only that, these devices can also help users while navigating through large amount of data. By adopting dynamic projection along with interactive visualization methods, Augmented Reality Devices and Motion Recognition Tools help solve the scaling problem. This technology becomes even more relevant when the data is multi-dimensional as in the field of architecture.
There are many devices and apps to help users with Augmented Reality technology. However, the Virtual Reality (VR) Headset and the HoloLens are the most prominent ones. The VR Headset provides immersive virtual reality to the wearer. These headsets come with stereoscopic head-mounted display, stereo sound and motion tracking sensors. They are mostly used in computer games and to simulate real environments. Lately, smartphone companies are also designing and manufacturing Virtual Reality Headsets for smartphones. VR content can be viewed directly from the screen of the device through the VR lenses instead of the dedicated internal displays. Whereas, the HoloLens is a device which assists in bringing content to life. The HoloLens projects holograms, overlaying objects and places, even people, directly onto whatever is already in place. The user can actually interact with holograms on wearing the HoloLens. With just a twitch of the thumb and index finger, things can be made smaller or bigger. For example, you are having abundant data, but in formats which may be difficult to process and prioritize such as long streams of figures on multiple monitors, each representing something different. So, to be able to extract the true meaning of the information quickly, you can use a combination of 2D and 3D presentation of the data for a better understanding. In this way, Augmented Reality helps to increase efficiency while reducing time, cost and the cognitive load of working with abstract data. i2e Consulting brings the same expertise to any domain involving data interpretation and collaboration by developing a wide range of tools and apps for data collection, interpretation and analysis.
Conclusion:
A lot of challenges crop up during Big Data processing and analysis. This is because the entire data is visualized by computers causing difficulties in extracting data due to the limitations in human perception and cognition. However, Augmented Reality helps in improving human perception and visualization experience. Using AR tools provides convenient access to a large quantum of data and offers a view from various angles. Navigating through the data becomes smooth with the help of tangible and verbal interaction.
