A Systematic Review of 3D Metaphoric Information Visualization

Abstract

Today, large volumes of complex data are collected in many application domains such as health, finance and business. However, using traditional data visualization techniques, it is challenging to visualize abstract information to gain valuable insights into complex multidimensional datasets. One major challenge is the higher cognitive load in interpreting information. In this context, 3D metaphor-based information visualization has become a key research area in helping to gain useful insight into abstract data. Therefore, it has become critical to investigate the evolution of 3D metaphors with HCI techniques to minimize the cognitive load on the human brain. However, there are only a few recent reviews can be found for 3D metaphor-based data visualization. Therefore, this paper provides a comprehensive review of multidimensional data visualization by investigating the evolution of 3D metaphoric data visualization and interaction techniques to minimize the cognitive load on the human brain. Complying with PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines this paper performs a systematic review of 3D metaphor-based data visualizations. This paper contributes to advancing the present state of knowledge in 3D metaphoric data visualization by critically analyzing the evolution of interactive 3D metaphors for information visualization. Further, this review identifies six main 3D metaphor categories and ten cognitive load minimizing techniques used in modern data visualization. In addition, this paper contributes three taxonomies by synthesizing the literature with a critical review of the strengths and weaknesses of metaphors. Finally, the paper discusses potential exploration paths for future research improvements.