research-article

On the limits of resolution and visual angle in visualization

Authors:

Christopher G. Healey,

Amit P. SawantAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception (TAP), Volume 9, Issue 4

Article No.: 20, Pages 1 - 21

https://doi.org/10.1145/2355598.2355603

Published: 22 October 2012 Publication History

Abstract

This article describes a perceptual level-of-detail approach for visualizing data. Properties of a dataset that cannot be resolved in the current display environment need not be shown, for example, when too few pixels are used to render a data element, or when the element's subtended visual angle falls below the acuity limits of our visual system. To identify these situations, we asked: (1) What type of information can a human user perceive in a particular display environment? (2) Can we design visualizations that control what they represent relative to these limits? and (3) Is it possible to dynamically update a visualization as the display environment changes, to continue to effectively utilize our perceptual abilities? To answer these questions, we conducted controlled experiments that identified the pixel resolution and subtended visual angle needed to distinguish different values of luminance, hue, size, and orientation. This information is summarized in a perceptual display hierarchy, a formalization describing how many pixels—resolution—and how much physical area on a viewer's retina—visual angle—is required for an element's visual properties to be readily seen. We demonstrate our theoretical results by visualizing historical climatology data from the International Panel for Climate Change.

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On the limits of resolution and visual angle in visualization

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Applied Perception

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception Volume 9, Issue 4

October 2012

109 pages

ISSN:1544-3558

EISSN:1544-3965

DOI:10.1145/2355598

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © 2012 ACM.

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Association for Computing Machinery

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Publication History

Published: 22 October 2012

Accepted: 01 July 2012

Revised: 01 July 2012

Received: 01 July 2011

Published in TAP Volume 9, Issue 4

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https://doi.org/10.1242/jcs.261567
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