A new facility opening at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), will transform the relationship between people and large sets of data by allowing researchers to experience immersive, 360-degree interactive data visualization.
The Data Arena allows viewers to stand in the middle of a screen that is four metres high and 10 metres in diameter and be surrounded by visual representations of data. Audio effects, temperature changes and smells can also able to be used to contribute to the immersive experience.
The space is the first of its kind in Australia, and it is designed to assist those working with large data sets produced by industry, government and university research. UTS vice-chancellor Attila Brungs said the arena has the potential to completely change the way people relate to data, and could be used by data analysts to recognize trends and patterns in a previously unseen way.
“The technology is so new we don’t know what the limits of its potential may be, whether for research, adding new knowledge to what we teach or how we can work in new ways with industry,” he said.
“It’s a bit like inventing a microscope, looking into it for the first time and realizing tiny life forms exist in a drop of water.”
Darren Lee, assistant developer of the Data Arena with Toby Grime, Animal Logic’s artistic director – who provided assistance in developing the immersive space.
Image: Courtesy of the University of Technology, Sydney.
“Each time researchers and industry partners first experience the Data Arena’s capabilities, new ideas are born about how this new way of seeing the world can give our research maximum impact,” he said.
Ben Simons was the lead developer of the space, and used his experience in animation and visual effects in film to inform the design. A three-dimensional panorama has been created through the use of six 3D-stereo video projectors, and a 16-channel audio system with speakers creates a surround sound effect.
“As we’re getting into bigger and bigger data, it becomes more and more important to figure out what we’ve got and what it can tell us,” Simons said.
“The way to make sense of all this big data is to visualize it. The larger the data sets become, the harder it is to track changes that may be occurring.”
The new space is situated on the ground floor of the Faculty of Engineering and IT building (FEIT), which was designed by Denton Corker Marshall and opened in June 2014. The building is just one of the university’s recent high-profile buildings. The Frank Gehry-designed Dr Chau Chak Wing business school opened in February and the Faculty of Science and Graduate School of Health building by Durbach Block Jaggers and BVN Architecture opened in April 2015.
The Data Arena officially opens on 21 July 2015.
