An augmented visual query mechanism for finding patterns in time series data

Relatively few query tools exist for data exploration and pattern identification in time series data sets. In previous work we introduced Time-boxes. Timeboxes are rectangular, direct-manipulation queries for studying time-series datasets. We demonstrated how Timeboxes can be used to support interactive exploration via dynamic queries, along with overviews of query results and drag-and-drop support for query-by-example. In this paper, we extend our work by introducing Variable Time Timeboxes (VTT). VTTs are a natural generalization of Timeboxes, which permit the specification of queries that allow a degree of uncertainty in the time axis. We carefully motivate the need for these more expressive queries, and demonstrate the utility of our approach on several data sets.