If you have done some data visualizations, chances are that you’ve heard the status quo about 3-D charts — they are bad and they should be avoided. There are numerous papers and books, arguing and demonstrating that 3-D charts are visually splendid but they can be mischievous about data, hence we should strive to present almost everything by 2-D plots.

To a large extent I agree with this argument. But with one very important clarification:

All these papers implicitly assume data visualization on 2-D displays, like monitors, projectors and TV screens.

On 2-D displays, the third dimension is artificially projected through a transformation matrix that distorts proportions. In other words, the sense of depth comes at the price of skewed and distorted images.

Up until the last 3–4 years, 2-D displays have been (with few exceptions) the only channel to present information. But that no longer is the case.

In this story I will share a different perspective on 3-D data visualization in Augmented and Virtual Reality through stereoscopic displays.

Before further reading, let’s watch a video that explains what we, at Progress Telerik, are after: