Force Brushes: Progressive Data-Driven Haptic Selection and Filtering for Multi-Variate Flow Visualizations

Abstract

We present Force Brushes, a haptic-based interaction technique for controlled selection in multi-variate flow visualizations. Force Brushes addresses the difficult task of volumetric selection and filtering by rendering haptic constraints that allow scientists to snap directly to proxy geometry, such as streamlines, to select regions of interest and then progressively filter the selection using a data-driven approach. Using progressive brushing actions with multiple variables, a user has the potential to explore volumetric data in a more immediate, fluid, and controllable way guided by the underlying data.