OntoSphere3D: a multidimensional visualization tool for ontologies

In this paper we propose a novel approach for inspecting and editing ontologies using a 3-dimensional space, where information is represented on a 3D viewport enriched by several visual cues. This approach aims at tackling space allocation issues for ontology visual models by adopting a dynamic collapsing mechanism and different views, at different granularities, for granting a constant navigability of the rendered model. A Prot g plug-in, based on the presented principles and named OntoSphere3D, has been developed and, to assess the claimed improvements in ontology navigation and inspection, domain experts evaluated this application by comparing it to other solutions as Jambalaya, OWLViz and TgViz on specific operations. Preliminary results show that the approach is feasible and can actually lead to a more effective modeling process with respect to currently available solutions.