Image Space Navigation for Search Exploration
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current image retrieval systems face inefficiencies in finding desired images due to limitations in browsing and searching capabilities, particularly in exploring related search results, which can lead to dead ends, repetition, and difficulty in escaping specific search types.
Innovation Solution
An interactive computer environment and system that allows users to browse and navigate image search results by panning and zooming through an image space, with a related-query engine generating adjacent search queries and preventing repetition, creating back edges to avoid dead ends, and splitting keywords for further searches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If users browse image search results using traditional linear navigation, then they can view search results sequentially, but they encounter dead ends and repetition that increase search time
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the traditional linear search navigation into a two-dimensional spatial layout where the initial search query is positioned at the center and related queries are arranged in surrounding panels. Users can pan and zoom across this image space to explore related queries in multiple directions simultaneously, eliminating dead ends by providing alternative navigation paths through adjacent query panels.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the system generates multiple related search queries to expand search options, then users can explore more image results, but the system consumes more computational resources
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-generates related search queries and organizes them into an image space layout before users begin browsing. The related-query engine proactively creates panels with adjacent queries based on the initial search, so that when users pan or zoom, the desired query panels are already available for immediate display without requiring real-time generation during interaction.
3Ease of operation
If users can pan and zoom freely through the image space, then they gain flexibility in exploring search results, but the system must dynamically generate and manage more query panels
Solution Approach 1:
The system implements event-driven panel generation where the related-query engine monitors user interactions (panning and zooming) and dynamically generates new query panels only when users navigate to regions where panels are needed. The engine receives pan and zoom events, determines which adjacent query panels should be displayed based on the current view, and generates them on-demand, reducing unnecessary panel creation while maintaining browsing flexibility.
Data Source
AI summary
The specification relates to the creation of an image space by receiving an initial image query. A plurality of search queries related to the initial search query are determined. Image results for the initial search query and the plurality of related search queries are obtained. A panel of images representing a number of images from the initial search query and panels of images representing a number of images from the plurality of related search queries are generated. These panels are used to provide an image space. The image space can be centered on the panel representing the resultant images related to the initial search query and can be surrounded by panels representing the resultant images related to the plurality of related search queries.