arivis Platform

Why do we develop the arivis Platform?

Science and technology are developing at a rapid pace. Technical systems are becoming more and more complex. They consist of all sorts of devices and sensors that produce an incalculable amount of data.

And here the problem starts. These data have all sorts of formats and often different dimensionalities. So far, they can only be processed via single and independent processes. A conjoint analysis of the different data, enabling a targeted search for correlations, is only feasible in special cases.

The tools for data evaluation are becoming to the same extend more complex and more special as the complexity of the systems is growing. Only experts can handle them effectively. The users are facing increasing difficulties. It is becoming more and more elaborate, to discover connections and rules in these floods of data.

Starting out from this problem and combining it with our past activities, we developed the arivis Platform.

With our arivis Platform it is possible, to take the complex, multi-dimensional data from different sources and synchronize them. In the following, they are integrated into the system according to predefined rules so that their complexity can be flexibly visualized and analyzed. Thus, the connections can be better recognized and complex questions can be answered faster and more effectively.

Which concepts are applied?

In the arivis Platform three basic concepts are realized:

• within the system, all data are considered as n-dimensional matrix of scalar values; the ranges of values typically are restricted real number ranges
• central, structuring element of the system are pipelines
• a graphical compound view provides the user only with graphical elements necessary for operation or just a user-defined interface.

With the help of the pipelines, all actions of data processing are formed into groups, mainly acquisition, visualization, modification and analysis of data. For this, all data are fitted into a global coordinate system of pipelines, to be able to match them in spatial and temporal relation. Pipelines consist of components that are connected with each other by relations, in which a pipeline can contain the following types of components:

• Data source – provides the pipeline with data in an abstract form
• Processor – can execute any operation on the data
• Data sink – visualizes data (Display) or saves them in arbitrary formats
• Controller – interaction between components

Every pipeline can display an independent application, for which a specific interface can be developed. In order to be able to implement workflows more easily, there are different perspectives of the user interface and for optimizing own applications, special perspectives can be defined. Furthermore, powerful tools support the user at all stages:

• Pipeline editor – to set up and modify pipelines
• Resource explorer – to organize and search all resources (data, components, documents, pipelines etc.
• Mapping manager – to display the data on different dimensions
• Track editor – for working with the time dimension

What is the arivis Platform able to do?

The pipeline concept of the arivis Platform makes it possible to flexibly connect data of different formats and perform operations on them. All changes of the data of the processor parameters can be watched live on the display, as well as their consequences on other data and parameters. Thus, the arivis platform supports the user to exactly record and understand even largest amounts of data.

The pipelines of the arivis Platform can be exported and with the help of an assistant, they can be packed into stand-alone applications. The integration of parts of pipelines into other pipelines is also possible.

Which possible applications are there?

The arivis Platform can be applied to many different scenarios. Here are three examples:

Monitoring – The incoming live-data are visualized in real time by the arivis Platform. When reaching predefined values, these can be issued as events, warnings or reports.

Simulation – Parameters of current or saved data can be specifically modified in order to simulate the consequences on the system. Thus, optimizing processes can be considerably simplified and visualized better.

Usability – When testing the user-friendliness of devices, software and websites, very different sensor data are often coming up. For an overall picture, system information, mouse movement but also breathing frequency, pulse and other physiological data are of interest. Through registration and analysis of these data by the arivis Platform, conclusions can be drawn about the perceptions and the state of the subject of the test.