The Role of Level of Detail in 3D Cartographic Visualizations

Investigating the geometric level of detail and the visual level of realism, the study examines the effect of level of detail on users' perceptions of 3D visualizations in an experiment that employs textures to render building facades. The effects of level of detail and level of realism are explored by testing users with four variations of the same virtual environment - MixedVE level of detail 1, RealisticVE level of detail 1, MixedVE level of detail 2, and RealisticVE level of detail 2. The experiment is a between -subject design involving eighty participants and two real-time tasks and measures both quantitative and qualitative data. The results of the experiment indicate that the participants in level of detail 2, with no time limit applied to the task, identified religious buildings more easily than in level of detail 1. In the second task, with a time limit applied, the participants discovered pharmacies more easily in the MixedVE than in the RealisticVE.