VizWorld.com

FlowingData has compiled a great list of 20 visualizations of various crime statistics.  Most of it is targeted to specific areas (a neighborhood, a city, etc) but some is more diverse like the “Flash Face” sketch artist tool.

There’s a lot of crime data. For almost every reported crime, there’s a paper or digital record of it somewhere, which means hundreds of thousands of data points – number of thefts, break-ins, assaults, and homicides as well as where and when the incidents occurred.

With all this data it’s no surprise that the NYPD (and more recently, the LAPD) took a liking to COMPSTAT, an accountability management system driven by data.

While a lot of this crime data is kept confidential to respect people’s privacy, there’s still plenty of publicly available records. Here we take a look at twenty visualization examples that explore this data.

via 20 Visualizations to Understand Crime | FlowingData.

Science crime, example, list, visualization

Naty Hoffman, one of the brains behind Real-Time Rendering, has posted a list of interesting talks at this year’s SIGGRAPH2009.  From an expert is real-time rendering engines and technologies, it’s a pretty comprehensive list.

Talks (formerly known as sketches) are one of my favorite parts of SIGGRAPH. They always have a lot of interesting techniques from film production (CG animation and visual effects), many of which can be adapted for real-time rendering. There are typically some research talks as well; most are “teasers” for papers from recent or upcoming conferences, and some are of interest for real-time rendering. This year, SIGGRAPH also has a few talks by game developers – hopefully next year will have even more. Unfortunately, talks have the least documentation of all SIGGRAPH programs (except perhaps panels) – just a one page abstract is published, so if you didn’t attend the talk you are usually out of luck.

via Real-Time Rendering.

Graphics book, list, siggraph

Twitter is quickly becoming, if it hasn’t already, a prime method of communicating to the masses.  Supplementing, and sometimes replacing, more common methods such as Blogs.  If you’re new to twitter, then here’s a list of some Visual Effects companies running on twitter for you to start with.  If you’re a veteran twitter user, then here’s some new names for you to consider!

Read more…

Graphics feature, list, twitter, vfx

While not the 10 most important moments, 3dworld has compiled a list of 10 very important moments in CG History, beginning with FutureWorld (1978, shown right) through Chicken Little (2005).

In the early days of the 1970s, just a few seconds of computer generated 2D animation was expensive to produce and considered a huge innovation. But today entire motion pictures are being produced using 3D animation and released in stereoscopic digital 3D. All the hard work of the modellers, FX supervisors and animators jumps right out into your lap. None of it would have been possible without these top groundbreaking moments in the history of CG…

via 3D World – The Magazine For 3D Artists.

Graphics history, list, vfx

If you’re working in the field of Digital Artistry and need inspiration, or just love adoring fantastic examples of CG images, then CGtuts has the article for you.

After hours of tirelessly scouring the web, I have done it! Below is a compilation of 50 of the most stunning pieces of CG artwork in the world. Composed in an array of different applications and styles, there is artistic inspiration here for everyone!

Some of the work we’ve covered before, but every single image in the list is a fantastic example of digital graphics tools in the hands of masters.

via 50 Breathtaking CG Images – Cgtuts+.

Graphics art, examples, list

Computers get faster and faster, but we’re stuck with our old ways of files & folders for managing information.  As we aggregate and collect data from hundreds or thousands of sources, it just becomes a giant unorganized pile for most of us.  Tools like OneNote or EverNote help, but what we truly need is a more visual approach that better utilizes the powers of the computer.  Eric Blue takes a look as 15 different tools that attempt to do just that.

Many tools exist that offer the ability to discover, save, organize, search, and retrieve information. However, I’ve noticed a trend in recent years, and some newer applications are focusing more on the visual representation and relationship of knowledge. I believe this is in part due to the wider adoption of mind mapping (and concept mapping), and leveraging concepts and advances in the semantic web community.

via Eric Blue’s Blog » Blog Archive » 15 Effective Tools for Visual Knowledge Management.

Science infovis, list, organization, software

Following up on their previous “7 failed VR technologies” article, io9 has a look at 7 successful VR technologies.  Much like my previous statements, they cover Virtual Reality’s use in training, therapy, and medical procedures.

So far, virtual reality has mostly been a colossal disappointment. But VR has had its share of breakthroughs and innovative applications. Here are seven VR technologies that work, and that may yet point the way to truly successful virtual reality.

via io9 – 7 Virtual Reality Technologies That Actually Work – Technology.

Hardware biomed, cave, list, natal, nintendo, virtual reality

Following on the popularity of the 50 Great Examples of Infographics meme, WebDesigner Depot has gathered 50 Great Examples of Data Visualization.  Focusing heavily on Web visualization, they show examples (and links to applications, where they can) for visualizations of many types.

Below are 50 of the best data visualizations and tools for creating your own visualizations out there, covering everything from Digg activity to network connectivity to what’s currently happening on Twitter.

50 Great Examples of Data Visualization | Webdesigner Depot.

Graphics, Science examples, list, visualization

Twitter is all the rage these days, but if you’re just getting started (or haven’t started yet) then you’re probably wondering why and who to follow.  The Hive comes to your rescue with a list of the top 10 VFX Twitterers.

Personally I think that the whole “updating your status” part of Twitter is ridiculous.  There, I said it.  I don’t care what you are eating for dinner, or if someone is being annoying in the movie theatre.  Keep it to yourself.  The thing that keeps me addicted to Twitter is the people that tweet the cool stuff:  The behind the scenes of Terminator Salvation, The VFX breakdown of Fast and Furious 4, the new tutorial that Aharon Rabinowitz just put onto Red Giant TV.  Those are the reasons why I use Twitter, and these are the people that you should be following.

I’m a little sad to see that @VizWorld didn’t make the list, but we’re new. Maybe we’ll make the next one :)

Inside the Hive – Top VFX Twitterers To Follow.

Graphics list, twitter, vfx

I have been thinking about making a list of some of the most seminal information visualization papers. These are papers that have made an impact and can be widely seen in the media (print/web) or are being adopted in visualization software/systems such as VTK, Prefuse, Many Eyes  and so on. I may have missed out on a few papers, so please feel free to add any that you think are ‘must-reads’ for an infovis researcher.

Click through for the list…

Read more…

Science books, education, feature, infovis, list, paper