Group Route Determination Using Token Weight Filtering
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current travel provider systems are inefficient in determining routes for groups of users traveling together, leading to high computational resource consumption, latency, and difficulties in booking tickets simultaneously, resulting in lost sales and suboptimal user experience.
Innovation Solution
A system and method using a graph with nodes and links to determine candidate routes for tokens with associated origin and destination nodes, filtering routes based on token weights and shared link weights to optimize route selection for groups, ensuring efficient resource usage and synchronized travel bookings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If separate travel searches are performed for each user in a group, then individual route options are maximized, but computational resource consumption increases and latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges separate travel searches for multiple users into a single group-based search operation. By treating a group of users as a single search entity with aggregated constraints (combined departure locations, common travel dates, synchronized arrival requirements), the system performs one computational search instead of multiple independent searches, thereby reducing computational resource consumption while still providing personalized route options within the group constraints.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a universal group search mechanism that handles multiple users simultaneously. The group search function serves multiple purposes: it identifies shared routes for synchronization, provides individual route alternatives for each user, and manages group-level constraints all in one operation, making the search system multi-functional and efficient.
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate travel searches are performed for each user in a group, then individual routing flexibility is maintained, but latency increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple sequential search operations into a single parallel group search operation. By aggregating user constraints and performing one unified search, the system eliminates the cumulative latency of multiple separate searches while maintaining the ability to provide flexible routing options for each user within the group context.
3Reliability
If all tickets are searched and booked simultaneously for a group, then synchronized travel is achieved, but computational resources are overwhelmed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the booking process into two phases: first, a unified group search that identifies synchronized routes for all users; second, individual booking operations for each user along the identified routes. This segmentation allows the system to maintain synchronized travel reliability through the unified search while reducing computational resource consumption by performing lighter individual booking operations rather than a single overwhelming group booking operation.
4Adaptability or versatility
If independent PNRs are assigned to each traveler, then individual booking flexibility is maintained, but group coordination becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a group identifier as an intermediary that links individual PNRs within a group. The group identifier serves as a mediator that connects separate individual bookings while maintaining group-level coordination capabilities, allowing the system to preserve both individual booking flexibility and group coordination ease through the intermediary grouping mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods for determining a set of routes using a graph having nodes and links connecting the nodes. The routes are determined for one or more tokens, and each token is associated with an origin node and a destination node included in the graph and with a token weight. Token constraints, which include at least one constraint relative to the token weight, are received for each token. Candidate routes satisfying at least some of the token constraints are received for each token. Each candidate route includes at least one route link included in the graph and the each route link is associated with a link weight. Shared route links are those route links that share at least two tokens. The candidate routes are filtered based on a condition related to the link weight of each shared route link and to the weights of the tokens sharing the link.