Geo-referenced Text Display Varying Prominence by Distance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional location-based applications on mobile devices struggle to effectively represent numerous points of interest relative to a user's location, often overwhelming the limited screen space with icons or lengthy lists, making it difficult for users to quickly identify nearby locations.
Innovation Solution
A computer-implemented method that displays search results with varying text prominence based on distance from the user's location, using techniques such as font size, color, and animation to highlight closer results more prominently.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If conventional map interfaces display all point-of-interest locations with uniform icons and text, then complete geographical coverage is achieved, but the display becomes cluttered and difficult to read on mobile device screens
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the visual properties (font size, text prominence, icon size) of location markers based on their distance from the user. Nearby locations receive enhanced visual treatment with larger fonts and more prominent display, while distant locations use smaller, less prominent text. This creates a gradient of visual importance that maintains information completeness while improving readability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a visual dimension of prominence beyond simple spatial representation. By adding variations in font size, text weight, and visual hierarchy, the system creates an additional dimension for encoding distance information, allowing users to quickly perceive relative locations without cluttering the display with uniform elements.
2Loss of information
If a list of all search results is displayed on a mobile device, then complete search results are presented, but the list becomes excessively long and requires excessive scrolling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the visual properties (font size, text prominence, icon size) of location markers based on their distance from the user. Nearby locations receive enhanced visual treatment with larger fonts and more prominent display, while distant locations use smaller, less prominent text. This creates a gradient of visual importance that maintains information completeness while improving readability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a visual dimension of prominence beyond simple spatial representation. By adding variations in font size, text weight, and visual hierarchy, the system creates an additional dimension for encoding distance information, allowing users to quickly perceive relative locations without cluttering the display with uniform elements.
3Ease of operation
If map icons are made larger to improve visibility, then individual location markers become more visible, but the overall map becomes more cluttered and obscures the geographical context
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by varying the visual properties (font size, text prominence, icon size) of location markers based on their distance from the user. Nearby locations receive enhanced visual treatment with larger fonts and more prominent display, while distant locations use smaller, less prominent text. This creates a gradient of visual importance that maintains information completeness while improving readability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies partial action by selectively enhancing the visibility of only those location markers that are most relevant to the user (nearby locations), rather than uniformly increasing the size of all markers. This partial enhancement achieves improved visibility for critical information without excessively cluttering the overall map display.
Data Source
AI summary
A system, method, and computer readable medium are provided for displaying geographically referenced information. In one example, a method includes causing a display of search results from a search of geographically referenced information (e.g., point-of-interest locations, geo-tagged objects, other users, and so on), the display comprising text associated with each of the search results, where the text varies for at least one of the search results based on the distance of the search results from a user location. For example, text associated with relatively close search results displayed more prominently than relatively distant search results. The method may further include generating presentation data according to a display scheme for displaying search results and communicating the presentation data to a user device. The method may vary the text based on at least one of font size, font style, color, shading, three-dimensional height, associated features, animation, combinations thereof, and the like.