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VECTORPAD: A TOOL FOR VISUALIZING VECTOR OPERATIONS

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Date Issued:
2009
Abstract/Description:
Visualization of three-dimensional vector operations can be very helpful in understanding vector mathematics. However, creating these visualizations using traditional WIMP interfaces can be a troublesome exercise. In this thesis, we present VectorPad, a pen-based application for three-dimensional vector mathematics visualization. VectorPad allows users to define vectors and perform mathematical operations upon them through the recognition of handwritten mathematics. The VectorPad user interface consists of a sketching area, where the user can write vector definitions and other mathematics, and a 3D graph for visualization. After recognition, vectors are visualized dynamically on the graph, which can be manipulated by the user. A variety of mathematical operations can be performed, such as addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, and cross product. Animations show how operations work on the vectors. We also performed a short, informal user study evaluating the user interface and visualizations of VectorPad. VectorPad's visualizations were generally well liked; results from the study show a need to provide a more comprehensive set of visualization tools as well as refinement to some of the animations.
Title: VECTORPAD: A TOOL FOR VISUALIZING VECTOR OPERATIONS.
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Name(s): Bott, Jared, Author
LaViola, Joseph, Committee Chair
University of Central Florida, Degree Grantor
Type of Resource: text
Date Issued: 2009
Publisher: University of Central Florida
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: Visualization of three-dimensional vector operations can be very helpful in understanding vector mathematics. However, creating these visualizations using traditional WIMP interfaces can be a troublesome exercise. In this thesis, we present VectorPad, a pen-based application for three-dimensional vector mathematics visualization. VectorPad allows users to define vectors and perform mathematical operations upon them through the recognition of handwritten mathematics. The VectorPad user interface consists of a sketching area, where the user can write vector definitions and other mathematics, and a 3D graph for visualization. After recognition, vectors are visualized dynamically on the graph, which can be manipulated by the user. A variety of mathematical operations can be performed, such as addition, subtraction, scalar multiplication, and cross product. Animations show how operations work on the vectors. We also performed a short, informal user study evaluating the user interface and visualizations of VectorPad. VectorPad's visualizations were generally well liked; results from the study show a need to provide a more comprehensive set of visualization tools as well as refinement to some of the animations.
Identifier: CFE0002827 (IID), ucf:48087 (fedora)
Note(s): 2009-08-01
M.S.
Engineering and Computer Science, School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Masters
This record was generated from author submitted information.
Subject(s): vector mathematics
visualization
pen-based
handwriting
recognition
linear algebra
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/ucf/fd/CFE0002827
Restrictions on Access: public
Host Institution: UCF

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