Quality Evaluation of Graph Visualization In Virtual Reality Settings

This research proposes an innovative approach to visualizing biological graphs using Virtual Reality (VR) technology. A force-directed layout algorithm is employed to construct interactive gene-disease networks. To explore algorithmic efficiency in practical settings, a VR application has been developed and tested that enables biologists to immerse themselves in a virtual environment containing a graph (network) of genes. The network comprises nodes that represent genes, and the edges are created when two genes share a common disease association. The effectiveness of the proposed application is evaluated using both traditional and VR-based metrics. Traditional software engineering metrics, such as usability metrics, are involved. Also, innovative VR-based metrics are introduced in this study. These metrics address a critical gap in the evaluation of VR applications because the literature has a severe lack in this area. They also offer new insights into user interaction and immersion in VR applications. The findings demonstrate the potential of VR in enhancing learning and knowledge acquisition among biologists. Additionally, the introduced VR-based metrics are effective in evaluating and are considered crucial tools in VR software engineering.