Interactive 3D Exploration of RDF Graphs through Semantic Planes

Fabio Viola, Luca Roffia, Francesco Antoniazzi, Alfredo D’Elia, Cristiano Aguzzi and Tullio Salmon Cinotti
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Fabio Viola: Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DISI), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Luca Roffia: Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DISI), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Francesco Antoniazzi: Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DISI), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Alfredo D’Elia: Advanced Research Center on Electronic Systems “Ercole De Castro” (ARCES), University of Bologna, 40125 Bologna, Italy
Cristiano Aguzzi: Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DISI), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Tullio Salmon Cinotti: Department of Computer Science and Engineering (DISI), University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy

Future Internet, 2018, vol. 10, issue 8, 1-30

Abstract: This article presents Tarsier, a tool for the interactive 3D visualization of RDF graphs. Tarsier is mainly intended to support teachers introducing students to Semantic Web data representation formalisms and developers in the debugging of applications based on Semantic Web knowledge bases. The tool proposes the metaphor of semantic planes as a way to visualize an RDF graph. A semantic plane contains all the RDF terms sharing a common concept; it can be created, and further split into several planes, through a set of UI controls or through SPARQL 1.1 queries, with the full support of OWL and RDFS. Thanks to the 3D visualization, links between semantic planes can be highlighted and the user can navigate within the 3D scene to find the better perspective to analyze data. Data can be gathered from generic SPARQL 1.1 protocol services. We believe that Tarsier will enhance the human friendliness of semantic technologies by: (1) helping newcomers assimilate new data representation formats; and (2) increasing the capabilities of inspection to detect relevant situations even in complex RDF graphs.

Keywords: semantic web; linked data; internet of things; visualization; 3D; computer graphics (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O3 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
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