VOICE: Visual Oracle for Interaction, Conversation, and Explanation

We present VOICE, a novel approach for connecting large language models' (LLM) conversational capabilities with interactive exploratory visualization. VOICE introduces several innovative technical contributions that drive our conversational visualization framework. Our foundation is a pack-of-bots that can perform specific tasks, such as assigning tasks, extracting instructions, and generating coherent content. We employ fine-tuning and prompt engineering techniques to tailor bots' performance to their specific roles and accurately respond to user queries, and a new prompt-based iterative scene-tree generation establishes a coupling with a structural model. Our text-to-visualization method generates a flythrough sequence matching the content explanation. Finally, 3D natural language interaction provides capabilities to navigate and manipulate the 3D models in real-time. The VOICE framework can receive arbitrary voice commands from the user and responds verbally, tightly coupled with corresponding visual representation with low latency and high accuracy. We demonstrate the effectiveness and high generalizability potential of our approach by applying it to two distinct domains: analyzing three 3D molecular models with multi-scale and multi-instance attributes, and showcasing its effectiveness on a cartographic map visualization. A free copy of this paper and all supplemental materials are available at https://osf.io/g7fbr/

Quando: enabling museum and art gallery practitioners to develop interactive digital exhibits

Museums and Art Galleries are challenged to inspire, engage and involve visitors by presenting their collections within physical exhibitions. Curators and exhibition professionals are increasingly telling stories using digital interactivity. This work introduces Quando, a visual programming based toolset that domain experts can use to create interactive exhibits. A small case study demonstrates the language in use at during an archaeological excavation

Egyptian Mummies at the Redpath Museum: Unravelling the History of McGill University’s Collection

This article provides the context for the acquisition of the Egyptian Mummies collection at the Redpath Museum through donors such as James Ferrier, Sir Thomas Roddick and the Montreal Natural History Society. Since the 19th century the Mummies have solicited a great deal of public interest and have also been the object of rigorous scientific studies, this paper explores the history of the collection at Redpath and the impact of new technologies on adding to our knowledge of the collection.

A Computational Design Pipeline to Fabricate Sensing Network Physicalizations

Interaction is critical for data analysis and sensemaking. However, designing interactive physicalizations is challenging as it requires cross-disciplinary knowledge in visualization, fabrication, and electronics. Interactive physicalizations are typically produced in an unstructured manner, resulting in unique solutions for a specific dataset, problem, or interaction that cannot be easily extended or adapted to new scenarios or future physicalizations. To mitigate these challenges, we introduce a computational design pipeline to 3D print network physicalizations with integrated sensing capabilities. Networks are ubiquitous, yet their complex geometry also requires significant engineering considerations to provide intuitive, effective interactions for exploration. Using our pipeline, designers can readily produce network physicalizations supporting selection-the most critical atomic operation for interaction-by touch through capacitive sensing and computational inference. Our computational design pipeline introduces a new design paradigm by concurrently considering the form and interactivity of a physicalization into one cohesive fabrication workflow. We evaluate our approach using (i) computational evaluations, (ii) three usage scenarios focusing on general visualization tasks, and (iii) expert interviews. The design paradigm introduced by our pipeline can lower barriers to physicalization research, creation, and adoption.Comment: 11 pages, 8 figures; to be published in Proceedings of IEEE VIS 202

Moving Inside the Box: Interacting with Interpretation of Historical Artefacts Through Tangible Augmented Reality

We present ARcheoBox, a walk-up-and-use prototype for interacting with interpretation of historical artefacts using tangible augmented reality. ARcheoBox enables users to manipulate virtual representations and interact with interpretation of historical artefacts using cylinder-shaped generic proxies. We also leverage the user interactions with interpretation using three interaction techniques “Move”, “Rotate”, and “Flip” as output modalities in AR. The prototype consists of a wooden box, a tablet display, and generic proxies, which means ARcheoBox does not require any head-mounted displays (HMDs), handheld controllers, or haptic gloves. We conducted a user study with 25 participants in which the findings demonstrate the advantages of tangible AR over more conventional interaction modalities presented in museums such as touch screens. Finally, we present a set of design recommendations for designing tangible AR that enhances the user’s interaction experience with historical artefacts

The Suitability of 3D Data: 3D Digitisation of Human Remains

The use of 3D data in the analysis of skeletal and fossil materials has conveyed numerous advantages in many fields; however, as the availability and use of 3D scanning equipment are rapidly increasing, it is important for researchers to consider whether these methods are suitable for the proposed study. The issue of suitability has been largely overlooked in previous research; for instance, casts and reconstruction methods are frequently used to increase sample sizes, without sufficient assessment of the effect, this may have on the accuracy and reliability of results. Furthermore, the reliability of geometric morphometric methods and the implications of virtual curation have not received sufficient consideration. This paper discusses the suitability of 3D research with regard to the accuracy, reliability, and accessibility of methods and materials, as well as the effects of the current learning environment. Areas where future work will progress 3D research are proposed

Behind the glass case: A comparative study of two sets of human remains in Norwegian museums

Kjernen i avhandlingen er casestudiet av to kvinnelige menneskelevninger. Dismutenibtes og ”Maren i myra” er fra ulike kulturelle og historiske kontekster. Dismutenibtes er en gammel egyptisk mumie og inngår i utstillingen ”De egyptiske mumier” på Kulturhistorisk museum i Oslo. ”Maren i myra” er derimot en kvinne med ukjent bakgrunn. Hennes levninger er utstilt på Teknisk museum i Oslo, i utstillingen ”Sunn sjel i et sunt legeme”. Gjennom grundige studier av biografiene og utstillingene til Dismutenibtes og ”Maren i myra” har jeg undersøkt om det foreligger fremstillingsmessige paralleller mellom de to utstillingene og mellom biografiene. Videre reiser studien forsøksvis en diskusjon om det finnes en mer passende måte å stille ut menneskelevninger på og hvordan det kan gjøres.Arkeologi mastergradsoppgaveARK35