3D Graph Visualization with the Oculus Rift - Graph Drawing - page 518

3D Graph Visualization with the Oculus Rift
Farshad Barahimi and Stephen Wismath
University of Lethbridge, Canada
Abstract. Visualization of large graphs in 3D has been hampered by
the expense and inconvenience of virtual reality equipment. The Oculus
Rift is an affordable head-mounted VR system that is becoming popular
in the gaming and education markets. The GLuskap software package for
creating and editing graphs in 3D has been extended to include support
on the Oculus Rift for stereographic 3D viewing, and navigation.
Introduction. There are many theoretical results in the graph drawing litera-
ture regarding three-dimensional (3D) representations of graphs. However, the
actual usefulness of such 3D drawings has always been questioned; in particu-
lar, the effectiveness of visualization has been a main concern, as ultimately the
graph must be presented to the user, commonly:
- projected onto a (2D) monitor, possibly with a stereographic effect such as
shutter glasses, or anaglyphically,
- displayed in a virtual reality environment such as a CAVE, or
- printed as a physical model with a 3D printer.
Early studies on the effectiveness of head-mounted VR systems vs. fish tank
VR noted that the hardware suffered from latency and resolution problems [1].
However, more recent HCI experiments indicate that users can improve perfor-
mance on graph tasks (such as determining paths) for large graphs in a 3D VR
environment [3].
The GLuskap [4] software package allows for the creation and editing of graphs
in 3D and has been extended over the past decade to include each of the above
three output techniques; interactive visualization of 3D graphs has always been
a priority. The Oculus Rift [2] headset provides an affordable, individual, 3D
stereo experience with head tracking and display of appropriate left and right
eye information (Fig. 1). The low latency and accurate orientational tracking
allow an acceptable immersive experience.
Implementation. The Oculus Rift Software Development Kit provides pro-
grammable support in a C environment. Although GLuskap is written in python,
suitable wrappers and libraries permit its use as the main engine for creating the
virtual (graph) world. Head tracking on the first generation (DK1) rift is only
rotational and does not detect translational movements. For more effective and
convenient navigation, a simple game controller was added, allowing the user to