Adventures in Space and Time: Browsing Personal Collections of Geo-Referenced Digital Photographs

Abstract

We evaluate two novel applications for browsing personal collections of geo-referenced digital photographs. The first, PhotoCompas, is a browser that employs no graphical user interface elements other than the photos themselves (textual browser). PhotoCompas was developed in our project, and is based on an automated organization of the respective photo collection into clustered locations and events. The second application, WWMX, features a richly visual interface, which includes a map and a timeline. WWMX is a third party implementation. We conducted a user study, where subjects performed tasks over their own geo-referenced photo collections. We found that even though the participants enjoyed the visual richness of the map browser, they surprisingly performed as well with the textual browser as with the richer visual alternative. This result argues for a hybrid approach, but it also encourages textual user interface designs where maps are not a good choice. For example, maps are of limited feasibility on handheld devices, which are candidates for replacing the traditional photo wallet.