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OVERVIEW OF LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION

OVERVIEW OF LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION

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OVERVIEW OF LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION

OVERVIEW OF LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION

• Definitions/scope• History of visualisation media• Case Studies• Discussion• Criteria and proto-principles for visualisation

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SOME DEFINITIONS

– Data visualization (scientific visualization): numerical, chart, 2D mapping, or 3D data in an enhanced but abstract form

– Landscape visualization which displays terrain and other recognisable geographic features in perspective view, with varying degrees of “realism” (Visual Simulation)

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Landscape TypesFarmingSuburbanRuralTreedLowland ForestScrub

Site BoundaryLandscape Types

FarmingSuburbanRuralTreedLowland ForestScrub

Site Boundary

CONCEPTUAL INFORMATION

UBC/Alex Fraser Research ForestShelterwood Systems

Actual Situation

Composition50% Fdi, 50% Pli

Composition50% Pli, 50% Sx

Road

Lake

Longitudinal SectionHeight:Fdi=34-36mPli=29-30m Height:

Pli=29-30mSx=35-36m

In the futureThe height of the trees at:20 years: Fdi=4-5m, Sx=2m, Pli=5-6m40 years: Fdi=14-15m,Sx=12-13m, Pli=17-18mThe composition of the stand is supposed to be the same.

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EXPERIENTIAL INFORMATION

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Applications to VRM

• Project planning/design

• Visual impact assessment

• Public information/communication

• Perception testing

• Documentation for post-construction monitoring

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Development review: alternative housing options

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Information processing

• Stimulus

• Channel

• Receptor

• Response

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Simulation components (Appleyard)

• Information-storage system (data)

• Simulation medium (technique)

• Presentation format– Images– Setting– Additional information

• People (operators)and….

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HISTORY

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• Photo Montage• Image Draping• 2D/3D Hybrid Modeling• 3D Modeling• Animation• Immersion/Interactivity

VISUALIZATION MEDIA

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• Geometric 3D Modelling: eg. wire-frames, solid models

• Photo-imaging: eg. 2D “paint programs” used on scanned photographs

• Hybrid Geometric/Photo-imaging: eg. composite pictures and draped images (texture maps)

ESTABLISHED TYPES OF LANDSCAPE VISUALIZATION

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SIMULATED SHELTERWOOD-CUTS (THIRD ENTRY)

Photosimulation

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SIMULATED SHELTERWOOD CUTS(Photo-overlay of 3D canopy model)

20EXISTING VIEW (PHOTOGRAPH)

PHOTOSIMULATION (3D STUDIO/PHOTO-SHOP)

World Construction Set Visualization

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Full 3D Modelling

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ESTABLISHED VISUALIZATION TYPES

• Photo-realism is not new

• Allow temporal “snapshots”

• Inexpensive and in fairly common use

• Very powerful images

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LIMITATIONS OF ESTABLISHED SIMULATIONS

• Static windows offer a tiny slice of the information: viewpoint easily manipulated

• Single set of conditions usually depicted

• Many choices and assumptions must be made to get to a “realistic” image, with little guidance other than experience

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NEW TYPES OF VISUALIZATION

• Newer presentation formats: eg. computer animation, virtual reality– Dynamism: movement, growth (spatial and

temporal variation)– Real-time interactivity and querying – Immersion technology adds new dimensions to

“reality”

• Increasingly “automated” realism tools/databases

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EXAMPLES OF EMERGING VISUALIZATION TYPES

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Computer animation

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UBC LANDSCAPE IMMERSION LAB (LIL)

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Goals for visualisation

• Get ‘em in the door and keep ‘em interested

• Make sure they understand what they see

• Make sure they can trust the visualisations

• Make sure they are not misled!

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CONCLUSIONS

• Visualizations are becoming an ever more valuable and powerful decision support tool, but….

• They should be used judiciously:

We do not yet know when to trust them

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Discussion questions

1How might a computer image or scene be manipulated to make it more aesthetic?

2Do the newer virtual reality techniques make it easier or harder to expose bias in visualization?

3What criteria or guidelines would you propose for the appropriate use of visualisations in a VRM context?

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PRINCIPLES FOR PREPARING VISUALISATIONS

• Realistic

• Accurate

• Comprehensible

• Engaging

• Credible/legitimate

• Accessible

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Understandable images

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Representative views

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Representative views

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Accuracy

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Potential advantages of emerging visualization methods

• Much more comprehensive choice of viewing modes

• Continuous shifts in time and space (seeing the transitions)

• Transparency of the process: freedom to roam within the data (querying the picture?)

• Much more efficient generation of multiple realistic images

• High-tech image for the presenter

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Limitations of emerging visualizations

• Insufficient data for high realism• Most are not linked directly to predictive

models (eg. ecological).• Still numerous choices and assumptions to be

made by the “artist”, with minimal guidance and no training

• Little available knowledge of the effects of visual images on viewer response: how many images and how much realism do we need?

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Risks of emerging visualization methods

• The “wow” factor and the “anti-wow” factor

• Very real danger of over-use, inappropriate use, and deliberately biased use

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ALTERNATIVE VISUALIZATION TECHNIQUES

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Some proto-principles

• Visualizations should be clear and understandable to the viewer

• Visualizations should be representative of typical or informative views

• Visualizations should be accurate on features important to the decision being made

• Realistic visualizations should evoke the same reactions as would the corresponding real environment (response equivalence)

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Some proto-principles

• Different visualization types are suited for different purposes: choose carefully and use multiple visualisation “channels”

• Maximize the freedom of choice for the viewer

• Make the visualization process and data sources transparent and accessible

• Maximize the linkages to the real landscape/experience/context

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TEMPORAL VISUALISATION:FIRST ENTRY SHELTERWOOD CUTS

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THIRD ENTRY SHELTERWOOD CUTS

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FIFTH ENTRY SHELTERWOOD CUTS

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Angle of view

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Geothermal powerplant

Predictive simulation

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Geothermal powerplant

Predictive simulation Actual photograph as built

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THE PROMISE OF VISUALIZATION

• Improved communication and understanding of

complex information: bringing 2D polygon maps

to life, revealing long-term temporal change,

showing future communities

• Integrating information across disciplines and

cultural barriers

• Helping designers/researchers to understand

their own plans/models better

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Simulation components (Appleyard)

• Information-storage system (data)

• Simulation medium (technique)

• Presentation format– Images– Setting– Additional information