Humanizing COVID-19 Data through Visual Analysis in Unity

Abstract

There are numerous statistical models extrapolated from data gathered on the 2020 pandemic caused by COVID-19. One such model by the USC Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events projects almost $5 trillion in net GDP losses, from March 2020 through the end of February 2022 (Gibson), signaling that the preventative methods against the virus and how well they are followed will help to either prolong or shorten our economic recovery. Though highly accurate, few of these models convey the data in laymen's terms that are approachable from a non-statistical point of view. The scatter plots, heatmaps and other graphs representing this data only begin to scratch the surface of humanizing the reasoning behind flattening the curve. In this project, I developed an application which brings a visual reinterpretation of the millions of lives socially and economically displaced by the pandemic in the United States. This application generates a "virtual room" of people infected by COVID-19 and the various outcomes of the illness.