A collaborative annotation system for data visualization

Abstract

We present Collaborative Annotations on Visualizations (CAV), a system for annotating visual data in remote and collocated environments. Our system consists of a network framework, and a client application built for tablet PC's. CAV is designed to support the collection and sharing of annotations, through the use of mobile devices connected to visualization servers. We have developed a working system prototype based on tablet PC's that supports digital ink, voice and text annotation, and illustrates our approach in a variety of application domains, including biology, chemistry, and telemedicine. We have created an XML based open standard that supports access to a variety of client devices by publishing visualizations (data and annotations) as streams of images. CAV's primary goal is to enhance scientific discovery by supporting collaboration in the context of data visualizations.