Audio-visual Mapping of Statistical Data

Sébastien Caquard & Glenn Brauen

Geomatics and Cartographic Research CentreCarleton University, Ottawahttp://gcrc.carleton.ca

Data Liberation Initiative (DLI) Workshop - Toronto - Dec. 13, 2007

Overview

• Introduction to Cybercartography

• Cybercartography Infrastructure Overview: Nunaliit

• Mapping Trade Data: A Cyber Cartogram

• Sound in Cybercartography

• Trade Data Sonification Browser

• Future Directions

• Q & A

Introduction to Cybercartography

Cybercartography

"The organization, presentation, analysis and communication of spatially referenced information on a wide variety of topics of interest and use to society in an interactive, dynamic, multimedia, multisensory format with the use of multimedia and multimodal interfaces" (Taylor 1997)

Reflection of the Changing Nature of Cartography

While the map is considered central to cybercartography, the notion of geographic narrative underpins the concept. Map and associated media can help to tell stories about people, places, space and society.

Elements of Cybercartography

• Multisensory and multimodal

• Uses multimedia and Technologies (e.g. Internet, Web 2.0)

• Interactive - "users" can become "creators".

• Compiled by teams of individuals

• Applied to a wide range of topics responding to societal

demands including topics not usually "mapped” (e.g. conceptual

distances)

• New research and development partnerships

Cybercartographic Atlases

• Atlas of Antartica (Taylor & Pulsifer)

• Atlas of Canada’s Trade with the World (Taylor & Eddy)

• Atlas du cinéma canadien (Caquard & Taylor)

• Living Atlas of Indigenous Artifacts and Knowledge (Taylor and Phillips)

• Interactive Atlas of Community Information in Nunavut (Aporta & Taylor)

• Cybercartographic Atlas of Arctic Bay (Inuit Heritage Trust)

• Kitikmeot Place Names Atlas (Kitikmeot Heritage Society)

• IPY Polar Atlas for Education and Outreach Endorsed and pending (Taylor & Pulsifer)

• Inuit Sea Ice Use and Occupancy Project (ISIUOP) (Aporta)

Cybercartography Infrastructure: Nunaliit

Nunaliit Cybercartographic Framework

Nunaliit.org

Nunaliit Cybercartographic Atlas Framework

Nunaliit Deployment Model

Open Source and Open Specifications

GCRC: active in the development and application of Open Source software and Open Specifications. Example: Nunaliit is an example of this.New BSD License (Berkeley Software Distribution)

Consensus: Centre and Research Assistants engage in publicly funded research:Results should be freely available for use, modification,

and re-distribution with minimal restrictions.With this license, everyone is free to use and expand

upon this technology.Open specification: important in ensuring interoperability

between remote data and information sources

Mapping Trade Data: A Cyber Cartogram

Trade Atlas Overview

• Team of researchers and students (International affairs: Geography; cartography)

• StatsCan database (120 countries, 50 criteria, 25 years)

• Goal: Improve the analysis (and

communication) of these data

• Compare simultaneously place, time and themes (Schema Triad Spatiotemporal)

A Geographic-Cartographic Trade Sector Model (GCM)

A Cyber Cartogram

3 elements to represent the 3 dimensions of Schema Triad Spatiotemporal

1. A one dimensional Geographical Space

2. Some Geographical entities associated to attribute data

3. An interactive timeline

• Application to fish and sea food data

• Canadian fishing industry : Can$ 5 Billions / year

• Export : 85% of the production

• Import : Can$ 2 Billions / year

• 130 000 jobs

• 200 communities are dependant upon fishing

A Cyber Cartogram

Example

• Simultaneous comparison of the 3 dimensions of the Schema Triad

Spatiotemporal

• Visual aggregation (clustering) : inter/infra continental analysis

• Movement: highlights changes

• Original: stimulate users interest

• Customizable (data, shape, center of gravity…)

Cyber Cartogram: Assets

=> Multiple Potential applications

• Representation of complex spatiotemporal relations

• Comparison of multiple types of geographical entities (industries, cities, regions, communities…)

• Different forms of proximity (Demographic, social, cultural,

politic, climatic…)

• Multiple time scales (geological, annual, seconds…)

• Diverse and distant databases

Cyber Cartogram: Potential Applications

=> Some limits

cinemas

USA

IMMIGRATION EMIGRATION

Cyber Cartogram: Limits

=> Design primarily for expert users

• One geographical dimension = latitudinal

overlapping

• Spatial entities changing over time (e.g.

URSS/Russia) and arbitrary spatial limits

• Special database formatting for time series

• Relative complexity of the author interface (xml)

• Some design issues (interaction, play button, size…)

Sound in Cybercartography

Interactive Sound Cartography Research

• Completed work: Strategic Transdisciplinary Research Cluster focused on use of sound in cybercartography: Cartography, Music, Film Studies, Computer Science.

• Completed work: Nunaliit support of recorded sound and basic support for synthesized music.

Interactive Sound Example

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Continuing Interactive Sound Research

• Ongoing work:

• Enhancement Nunaliit of support for synthesized music and authoring abstractions.

• User evaluations of sound map examples funded by a SSHRC research grant.

Abstract Sound Use

Trade Data Sonification Browser Overview

• Application to explore data related to Canada’s Trade with World Regions in context of the Cybercartographic Atlas of Canada’s Trade with the World.

• Examine use of abstract sound representation in interactive atlas.

• Data (3 Selection Criteria):

• Location - aggregated by region

• Time - 5 year aggregation

• Trade Sector (Using Atlas GCM model)

Trade Data Browser Visual Variables

• Total exports and imports by region/period/sector.

Trade Data Browser Auditory Variables

• Canada’s trade with current region (mouseover):

• ratio of imports to exports (normalized by sector and period)

• percent of total (normalized by sector and period)

Trade Data Browser

Abstract Sound Pros/Cons

• Pros:

• Off-load visuals in complex application

• Engage users

• Good fit for abstract time-series data

• Cons:

• Still as complex as underlying data

• Users unfamiliar / surprised

• Users have strong audio preferences!

• Designed for complex applications:

• Many complex auditory and visual interactions

• Testing sound or visuals? (both)

Conclusion & Future Directions

• Nunaliit: a flexible open source cybercartographic infrastructure

• Allows the development of innovative audio-visual forms of

maps

• Spatial Analysis of (statistical) data

• User interaction

• Geospatial storytelling

Conclusion & Perspectives

=> Toward new ways of exploring and mapping statistical

data

Conclusion & PerspectivesProjets en cours

• Example: Atlas Cybercartographique du

Cinéma Canadien (SSHRC)

• Goal: explore the potential cinema holds

for audio-visual mapping

• Through statistical analysis and

representation of cinematographic

territories

• of production

• of action

• of distribution

Plus d’informations

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From Le jeu de l’oie (Raul Ruiz 1980)

Questions and Discussion

http://gcrc.carleton.ca http://nunaliit.org

Glenn Brauen: gbrauen@connect.carleton.ca

Sébastien Caquard: scaquard@connect.carleton.ca