Visualization in Massive datasets
What is visualization?
Many people believe visualization to be the ability of computer systems to process data and display it pictorially. However, visualization is not the computer's capability to generate pictures and graphs from data, but rather the human's capacity to utilize effectively the output from the computer to understand the data.
The model below shows conceptually how the various building blocks of the visualization process relate to each other.
Military visualization problems arise constantly from the ever increasing volume, complexity and dynamic nature of data sets of interest that are beyond the capability of current presentation techniques to display effectively for human understanding and action. Effective visualization for the military will require the continuous development of new techniques - tools and methods - that will allow closer coupling and system level integration of the human's capabilities into the overall human-computer system.
NATO Research Study Group (RSG) IST-13 interprets visualization as a
human activity supported by technology. It is a means by which humans make sense
of complex data. The RSG considers visualization technologies, such as search
engines, algorithmic processes and display devices and techniques, but only
in relation to how they help humans to perform their tasks effectively. The
RSG emphasizes the human use of the computational subsystem in ensuring that
the right information is available in the form and at the time needed.