Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
User-Centered Framework for Uncertainty Visualisation
The preceding chapters summarized individual findings concerning great amount of
individual aspects that can have distinctive influence over the visualization of
uncertainty. Visualization of uncertainty is, from this point of view, a discipline
lying at the borders of a number of different scientific fields. As a completely
starting point during study of uncertainty can be considered the properties of
uncertainty lying in the basis of natural processes and it is very difficult to describe
them. Subsequently, all spatial data acquired from real environment can be analog-
ically affected by a certain form of uncertainty. From the visualization point of
view, it is very difficult to visually represent data in a form reflecting their true
nature. Moreover from the perspective of the paper and proposed framework is
necessary to consider also another frameworks in the same domain which have been
already proposed. As the most important frameworks can be considered frame-
works done by Vo
ˇ
en
´
lek and Ka
ˇ
ok (
2011
), Buttenfield (
2000
), Davis and Keller
(
1997
) or Aipperspach (
2009
).
Uncertainty is an integral part of all operations with spatial data, but also part of
all results and cartographic representations. From the point of view of the preceding
text, uncertainty was understood as, predominantly, quality of spatial data, as a
principal and key element influencing a number of other factors. Visualization of
uncertainty also influences the whole process of transfer between the originator and
recipient of information, because during cartographic communication, many of
problems occur. While defining the concept of visualization of uncertainty, it
must be stated that there are more concepts of uncertainty and it was not possible
for this paper to deal with all of them.
Individual components of spatial data can be researched from the point of view
of individual standards and groups of descriptive parameters of data that can be
subsequently used for the visualization of uncertainty can be created. Most of those
components are described using metadata. Metadata recording of individual com-
ponents thus plays a principal role in describing uncertainty. These statements on
information bearing data concerning the level of quality of the data however,
despite all efforts in the GIScience community still do not include descriptions,
instructions or at least recommendations how subsequently represent the informa-
tion concerning the quality of the data. The situation is further complicated by the
fact that as part of research in the field of visualization of uncertainty, there are only
few works dealing with the complex issue of the visualization of uncertainty from
the cartographic point of view. This fact is an initial presumption for designing a
concept for decision-making process concerning the visualization of uncertainty
with regard to the user. The design of the concept itself is based on decision-making
process concerning the selection of expressing tool as part of topical cartography.
As an integral part of individual criteria in the decision-making process during the
creation of a map, individual aspects of the visualization of uncertainty are subse-
quently added in order to create a complete concept. The designed concept also
includes many findings acquired during solving the project called Intelligent
