Although we have not yet broken away from viewing the web using a flat 2D screen, whether it be a computer monitor or a mobile device’s screen, there is work going on by researchers and others to imagine what the electronic landscape of the Internet would be like if it were viewed in 3D space. This has led to some interesting experiments that present web sites as nodes represented in 3D space based on their relationships with other sites. French engineering student Owen Cornec recently decided to pursue a similar endeavour for Wikipedia. His work resulted in WikiGalaxy, a Chrome Experiment that displays Wikipedia articles as a 3D star map.
According to Cornec, “I wanted to create something beautiful with technical prowess…I also wanted to present something people take for granted in a new way.” The result is an experience that represents all the knowledge available on Wikipedia based on how it is linked or related to other information. Related items are represented by clusters of stars, interstellar pathways represent hyperlinks, and the experience even includes other users and bots flying through the space as tiny comets.
Eventually Cornec plans to color code each “star” based on the super-category that Wikipedia has assigned to it. He also plans to incorporate support for Oculus Rift to create a sense of actually feeling like you are searching for information in deep space.
Click here to view the embedded video.
source: The Creators Project
via: Engadget
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