A visual analytics framework for big spatiotemporal data

Abstract

Spatial visual analytics1 is a critical aspect for big spatiotemporal data (BSTD) in exhibition the hidden spatiotemporal patterns. However, the real-time and dynamic characters of BSTD causes great challenges for the GIS domain and big data domain due to the limitation of the current visual analytics tools. Thus, we propose and implement a visual analytics framework. The framework integrates open source map library and visualization library to provide innovative visual capacity for BSTD. The framework uses GIScript and iDesktop Cross to support high performance BSTD spatial analytics. The application of the framework in global air traffic data proves its efficiency and utility in discovering the global flight patterns. The framework simplifies the visual analytics procedure for BSTD and can be adopted by various domains.