Arbitrary views of high-dimensional space and data
Andrew Ellerton · Australasian Journal of Paramedicine · 1996
Computer generated images of three dimensional scenes objects are the result of parallel/perspective projections of the objects onto a two dimensional plane. The computational techniques may be extended to project n-dimensional hyperobjects onto (n-1) dimensions, for n > 3. Projection to one less dimension may be applied recursively for data of any high dimension until that data is two-dimensional, when it may be directed to a computer screen or to some other two-dimensional output device. Arbitrary specification of eye location, target location, field-of-view angles and other parameters provide flexibility, so that data may be viewed-and hence perceived-in previously unavailable ways. However, arbitrary views may also increase the computational requirements, and may complicate the user's task in preparing and interpreting a view. Data with a dimension greater than three are difficult to perceive geometrically, yet may be invaluable to the observer. This study designs and implements a data visualisation system which incorporates arbitrary views of high-dimensional objects using repeated hyperplanar projection.