(374l) Lion Software: A Roaring Transformation in Data Visualization

The need and desire for open-access scientific data has been steadily increasing over the past years with 85% of scientists indicating they would publish data if it was easily accessible to others.¹ Although this has resulted in a greater proportion of published raw data, the accessibility of this data has been lacking.² One proposal for increasing the accessibility and usability of published data is developing engaging, web-based, visualization platforms that can enhance the current folder data repositories models.³ LION (Local, Interactive, Online, Network) Software is a web-based, interactive, dashboard that can instantly visualize any Excel or CSV data through a user-friendly “drag-and-drop” feature. The dashboard includes a 2D or 3D scatter graph that may be easily adjusted based on user requirements and can be exported as a PNG, a network which connects data points based on how similar the data points’ parameters are (all user adjustable) and a table that updates based on user-inputs and can be exported as an Excel file. LION Software can also be personalized to permanently house research data that could published as a data repository (pro-version).

LION Software addresses many challenges commonly associated with scientists publishing data and users accessing the data (both scientists and citizens). The challenges for publishers are often associated with time, finances, and data security while those of the users are often, initial learning curve, ease of access to locate and use, engagement, interaction and visual aesthetics.^2,4,5 LION Software may be locally housed on any university or group’s website or journal’s server (security), the code is prewritten in either Python or HTML/JavaScript (time) and the open-access online version is free (finances). LION has been accurately tested for Voronoi scaffolds used in medical applications⁶ and ultrasound readings of battery failure mechanisms⁷ with user adjustments taking only 2-3 seconds to update for 1 000 data points and 6-7+ seconds for 20 000+ data points. The software has also been tested among non-scientists and scientists from different backgrounds who have all claimed how low the initial learning curve was, “it was incredibly easy to understand and use” [non-scientist], and how the dashboard layout and colours made it appealing to utilize. The open-access online version is permanently housed on the LION Software website and can be freely used to visualise any Excel or CSV data while the pro-version requires further communication with the LION Software team to personalise and determine access to the raw Python/HTML code.

References

(1) Borgman, C. L.; Brand, A. Data Blind: Universities Lag in Capturing and Exploiting Data. Science 2022, 378 (6626), 1278–1281.

(2) Tenopir, C.; Rice Id, N. M.; Allard, S.; Baird, L.; Borycz Id, J.; Christian, L.; Grant, B.; Olendorf, R.; Sanduskyid, R. J. Data Sharing, Management, Use, and Reuse: Practices and Perceptions of Scientists Worldwide. PLoS One 2020, 15 (3).

(3) Rossi, R. A.; Ahmed, N. K. An Interactive Data Repository with Visual Analytics. ACM SIGKDD Explorations Newsletter 2016, 17 (2), 37–41.

(4) Hou, C.-Y.; Mayernik, M. S. Improving the Usability of Organizational Data Systems. Int J Digit Curation 2021, 16 (1), 21.

(5) Li, Q. Data Visualization as Creative Art Practice. Visual Communication 2018, 17 (3), 299–312.

(6) Todd, L.; Chin, M.H.W.; Coppens, M.-O. Two conjectures on 3D Voronoi Structures: A Toolkit with Biomedical Case Studies. MSDE. [submitted for publication]

(7) Fordham, A.; Milojevic, Z.; Giles, E.; Jervis, R.; Shearing, P. R.; Brett, D. J. L. Correlative Non-Destructive Techniques to Investigate Aging and Orientation Effects in Automotive Li-Ion Pouch Cells. Joule, 2023, 7, 2622–2652.