SBIR Phase I: Novel Platform for Visualizing Big Data in Virtual Reality

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是，公司和市政当局能够更快速、更容易地从他们的大型地理空间数据集中找到见解。现有的基于2d的工具一直在努力跟上现代数据集的需求。在目标行业内，该项目的成果将加速下一代5G网络的部署，帮助提高容量和应急规划期间的态势感知，并允许对公用事业电网等大型基础设施进行实时监控。此外，地方、州和联邦政府将以最少的额外培训或人力成本，更好地了解他们的数据，从而制定更有效、更有影响力的政策决策。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目解决了处理地理空间数据时面临的三个关键挑战：数量、种类和可访问性。地理空间信息通常体积庞大，生成速度比处理速度快。此外，GIS数据以许多不同的格式出现，这些格式本身并不兼容，而且非常孤立，很难进行协作。本研究的目的是增强非技术人员搜索、发现和交流见解的能力。具体而言，该项目将沉浸式显示技术与先进的可视化技术相融合，形成一种新型的数据体验。使用虚拟现实，用户将能够加载大型、复杂的地理空间数据集，并自然地探索它们。预期的技术结果将是一个概念验证应用程序，允许人们真正进入他们的数据，发现隐藏的含义，并邀请其他人分享相同的经验和收获。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project is the ability for both companies and municipalities to more quickly and easily find insights inside their large geospatial datasets. Existing 2D-based tools have struggled to keep up with the demands of modern datasets. Within the targeted industries, the result of this project will accelerate the deployment of next-generation 5G networks, help improve situational awareness during capacity and emergency planning, and allow for the real-time monitoring of large-scale infrastructures like utility grids. Additionally, local, state, and federal governments will gain a greater understanding of their data with minimal additional training or staffing costs, leading to more effective and impactful policy decisions.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project addresses three critical challenges faced when working with geospatial data: volume, variety, and accessibility. Geospatial information is often bulky and created faster than it can be processed. Further, GIS data comes in many different formats that aren't inherently compatible and is siloed so much that collaboration is difficult. The objective of this research is to enhance a non-technical person's ability to search for, find, and communicate insights. Specifically, this project fuses immersive display technologies with advanced visualization techniques to form a new type of data experience. Using virtual reality, a user will be able to load large, complex geospatial datasets and explore them naturally. The anticipated technical result will be a proof-of-concept application that allows someone to literally step inside their data, discover hidden meanings, and invite others to share the same experience and takeaways.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.