EvolutionMap: Exploring Historical River Landscape Evolution in a 3D VR environment
EvolutionMap is an innovative geovisualization framework developed as part of a Master’s thesis at ETH Zurich, in collaboration with the Chair of Cartography and the Chair of Geoinformation Engineering. This research is a continuous work of a Geomatic Master Project at ETH Zurich: Modelling Historical River Landscape Evolution in Virtual Reality (VR).
The system visualizes the evolution of landscapes over time using three-dimensional models derived from historical topographic maps. By combining spatial and temporal data in an immersive VR environment, EvolutionMap aims to make complex geographical changes easier to understand, especially for users without prior map-reading experience.
What is investigated and how?
The aim of this study is to investigate the effectiveness and gain of 3D visualized landscapes as well as animated temporal changes of landscapes in a VR environment. In particular, we want to know whether spatial awareness, recallability, and spatiotemporal understanding of novice users can be improved by using these representations in comparison to traditional 2D maps.
Experiment
We are conducting a user study in which participants will explore EvolutionMap using VR equipment. You will experience different visualization conditions and complete tasks that assess your understanding of landscape changes.
How to Participate
- Register here: https://forms.gle/brFtiq4aD5bW1BM87
For more information, please read the Information and Consent Form.
Who can participate?
To join the study, you must:
- Have no prior experience in cartography or geographic information systems (GIS): no specialized studies, work, or hobbies in the field
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have normal or corrected-to-normal vision (glasses and contact lenses are allowed)
- Have no color blindness
- Not suffer from any acute or chronic physical or mental disorders
Researchers
- Prof. Dr. Lorenz Hurni (Leading professorship)
- Prof. Dr. Martin Raubal (Collaboration professorship)
- Sidi Wu (Advisor, Post-Doctoral researcher)
- Yizi Chen (Advisor, Post-Doctoral researcher)
- Tianyi Xiao (Advisor, Doctoral student)
- Mischa Bauckhage (Investigator, Master Student)
Timeline
- Start Date: 15.02.2024
- End Date: 15.09.2025