Frame of reference effects on scientific visualization subtasks

Performance measures for 3 frames of reference (full exocentric, full egoce ntric, and tethered) were contrasted across 4 different scientific visualiz ation subtasks: search, travel, local judgment support, and global judgment support. Participants were instructed to locate and follow a designated pa th through 15 simple virtual environments and to answer simple questions ab out that environment. Each participant completed 5 trials in every frame of reference condition (exocentric, egocentric, and tethered). The results re vealed that frames of reference that utilize egocentric or tethered viewpoi nts support better travel performance, especially when nearing the target. However, the exocentric frame of reference supported better performance in the search subtasks and in the local and global judgment subtasks. Actual o r potential applications of this research include proper uses of virtual re ality to support certain scientific visualization subtasks.