Angela Chen | Portfolio

Abstract Data Visualization :: 2005

Technologies Used: Java, Director with Lingo

Overview

This project deals with the visualization of GPS data through a translation of systems that contrasts technological and non-technological frameworks as well as what are considered to be male and female gender roles.

Description

I am recording my movement over a period of months using a GPS device. I plan to stitch the paths I have taken in daily routines onto two large-scale pieces of stretched fabric. These canvases will be presented in a diptych: one that represents a close up of movement within San Diego and the second which provides a broader view when I venture beyond San Diego. The reason for doing this is because if I were to represent everything on one canvas the scale of my larger trips, i.e. trips of greater distance, would overshadow the smaller local movements such as trips to the grocery store or school.

Initially, I had proposed the idea of building a large-scale robotic plotter, which would draw my paths. However, I have since reconsidered that idea because of the translation of one technological system (GPS) to another technological system (robotic plotter). I began to question the purpose of visualizing data using different (GPS vs. robotic plotter), but conceptually the same (both technological) forms. Wouldn't it be more interesting to contrast technological vs. non-technological frameworks instead?

The idea of hand stitching my paths stems from my interest in what are considered "lower" forms of art, i.e. crafts, and also from my desire to produce a tangible object. By embroidering my paths by hand I am hoping that the frequency of my daily routes will provide an interesting Z dimension that would have been nonexistent in an XY plotting system. In other words, the thread will build upon itself resulting in protrusions based on repeated routines. It will also come to create a sort of abstracted map where the importance of negative space is equally important as my physical tracks. For example, satellite reception is unavailable indoors so when I enter a building at one point and exit out another the structure will be represented as a hole. Also, I have come to realize that there is weak satellite reception in certain locations of the UCSD city shuttle route due to urban canyons created by tall buildings. In such cases I will proceed with the data that is recorded with the device. The absence of stitches will hopefully provide an indication of the presence of buildings.

This project is on one level about the act tracking and being tracked (it is voyeuristic in a sense). It provides a sort abstracted visual dairy of a small section of one's life. I wanted to make it a point not to change my routines in order to gain better data. This process is about recording ordinary activity and while things like parking my car outside instead of inside the parking structure would provide for more continuous paths, it is not what I would do normally. Also, the GPS is left on at all points during an outing so that I will not have to interrupt my routine with the need to turn the device on and off and wait for satellite connections.

In this project data is translated through various systems from the nearly indiscernible outputted from a GPS to the purely visual and familiar as represented on canvas. It also in a sense includes a third, represented in printed form, that serves as an intermediate stage in moving that data from computer screen to fabric canvas. Throughout this process the data is scaled down through the representation of expansive space, San Diego and most of Southern California, onto a single sheet of paper (8.5" x 11") then scaled up again to the canvas (roughly 56" x 72").

Ideas about male and female gender roles also emerge in this project. Programming, and the realm of technology in general, is considered to be a male oriented task. While I am aware that the first programmer, Ada Lovelace, was a woman I am speaking more about our society's association of the technological as adjunct to male. This contrasts tasks such as weaving or sewing that has been traditionally thought of as female work. The incorporation of dual aspects, the act of programming and sewing, symbolizes a contemporary movement towards a more androgynous state.

Treatment

The process of collecting data is continuous and ongoing. I have developed my own system for recording and documenting my movement. The GPS device goes with me everywhere and includes larger outings like visits to Los Angeles as well as the small mundane routines of walking to get the mail. I have adopted "home" (my apartment in San Diego) as a starting and ending point to which I will reference all paths. Everyday the tracklog of my movement is downloaded from the device using G7toWin and saved as a csv (comma separated value) file ready to be read by my program. I have also adopted the habit of keeping a written journal of where I went that day and a description of the locations. For Example, if I went to school, what buildings and my means of transportation, which affects the path I take, are documented. My reason for doing this is that my daily activates are recorded individually on a day-to-day basis. I want to make sure that when laid one on top of the other that they will line up with previous paths of the same nature.

The first phase of this project consists of software development. I have written a formal Java application (class TrackLog) that parses the data outputted from a GPS. The requirement of this program is that it must be able to read an unknown number of lines in the file and initialize separate arrays of such length at runtime. Each file is a different size depending on the distance traveled that day. The utm coordinates of easting and northing were rounded to provide easer conversion to a two dimensional plane. This does not result in any inaccuracy because the accuracy of the GPS device is + 3 to -3 feet. This program also scales the easting and northing coordinates so that it can be plotted in XY form. A java applet was then created that uses TrackLog objects to visually plot paths.

Java Plotter

The second phase is the construction of and conversion of data to canvas as well as a continuation of the data collection process. I will translate my path from printed-paper to large canvas using a grid system. While this process may prove at times somewhat clumsy and imprecise, such is the nature of non-technological systems and requires an element of artistry.