Exploring cyber physical data streams using Radial Pixel Visualizations

Cyber physical systems (CPS), such as smart buildings and data centers, are richly instrumented systems composed of tightly coupled computational and physical elements that generate large amounts of data. To explore CPS data and obtain actionable insights, we construct a Radial Pixel Visualization (RPV) system, which uses multiple concentric rings to show the data in a compact circular layout of small polygons (pixel cells), each of which represents an individual data value. RPV provides an effective visual representation of locality and periodicity of the high volume, multivariate data streams, and seamlessly combines them with the results of an automated analysis. In the outermost ring the results of correlation analysis and peak point detection are highlighted. Our explorations demonstrates how RPV can help administrators to identify periodic thermal hot spots, understand data center energy consumption, and optimize IT workload.