A multi-scale, multi-layer, translucent virtual space

The dynamic nature of virtual display spaces can provide powerful tools for helping people comprehend phenomena that occur over widely disparate spatial scales. This paper presents the macroscope, an interactive technique for browsing very large spaces of displayed information at different scales. The macroscope takes as a point of departure the traditional 2D zoom and pan operations, but introduces multiple translucent layers to avoid the problem of losing visual context. The third dimension is used to visually separate the layers and provide an external point of view for controlling the presentation. The user can manipulate viewfinders in the virtual space, which control the relative scale and position of the layers.