Context-Aware Conversational Mapping for Ambiguous Natural-Language Queries

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing mapping technologies suffer from limited natural language understanding (NLU), inability to handle ambiguity, complexity in query formulation, reduced flexibility, and heavy dependency on structured data, leading to inaccurate information retrieval and increased input/output (I/O) requirements.

Innovation Solution

Utilizing a Large Language Model (LLM) to process natural language questions or commands, extract contextual data, and generate responses, including enriched prompts, to improve NLU, handle ambiguity, and reduce query complexity, while leveraging unstructured data sources for more comprehensive information retrieval.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If traditional structured query systems are used for mapping, then query formulation follows fixed patterns, but natural language understanding capability is limited and flexibility is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvenatural language understanding capabilityVSAvoidquery formulation complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

A language model serves as an intermediary between the user's natural language query and the mapping system's structured query processor. The language model translates diverse natural language expressions into standardized query formats, enabling the system to understand and process flexible user intentions while maintaining structured data retrieval capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system changes the parameter of query input from structured formats to natural language formats. By accepting queries in various natural language expressions and converting them to standardized internal representations, the system adapts to different user communication styles while maintaining consistent processing behavior.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #35Parameter changes

2Measurement precision

If structured data is heavily依赖 for information retrieval, then retrieval accuracy is maintained, but flexibility and ability to handle ambiguity are reduced

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveinformation retrieval accuracyVSAvoidflexibility in handling ambiguous queries
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSAdaptability or versatility

Solution Approach 1:

The language model acts as a mediator that bridges unstructured natural language queries and structured data retrieval systems. It interprets ambiguous natural language expressions, resolves ambiguities through contextual understanding, and translates them into precise structured queries that maintain high retrieval accuracy while handling flexibility requirements.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

Solution Approach 2:

The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the language model iteratively refines query interpretations based on contextual information and user responses. This feedback loop enables the system to handle ambiguous queries by progressively clarifying user intentions while maintaining accurate information retrieval through structured data queries.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

3Measurement precision

If complex query processing is implemented to improve NLU, then information retrieval accuracy improves, but input/output complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
ImproveNLU accuracyVSAvoidinput/output complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Measurement precisionVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The complex NLU processing logic is extracted into a separate language model component that operates independently from the structured query processing system. This extraction allows the complexity of natural language understanding to be isolated in a specialized module, simplifying the overall system architecture while maintaining high NLU accuracy through dedicated linguistic processing capabilities.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentEP4641408A1Context-aware conversational map functionality
Publication Date: 2025.10.29 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC
  • EP4641408A1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP4641408A1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP4641408A1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

Various embodiments discussed herein relate to using one or more language models and/or mapping platforms to generate a response to a natural language question or command regarding geographical information associated with a mapping platform. In response to receiving such natural language question or command, some embodiments first extract contextual data. Based at least in part on the extracting of the contextual data, various embodiments then provide the contextual data and the natural language command or question as input into one or more language models such that the one or more language models and/or mapping platforms generate a response. Some embodiments then cause presentation of an indication associated with the response.