Interactive Search Exploration With Spatial Topic Mapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional search engines present search results in a linear order, which can be biased and limited in perspectives, making it time-consuming and resource-intensive for users to explore information, and repetitive searches increase network latency and computing costs.
Innovation Solution
An interactive search exploration tool visually presents related topics around a primary topic based on their extent of relatedness, allowing users to efficiently explore and interact with these topics, reducing the need for multiple searches.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If search results are presented in a linear order with the most relevant result at the top, then the most relevant information is easily accessible, but users experience biased and limited perspectives and must perform multiple repetitive searches to explore related topics
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transforms the traditional linear one-dimensional search results into a two-dimensional spatial visualization where related topics are arranged around a central topic in concentric circles. This dimensional change allows users to see multiple perspectives simultaneously while maintaining relevance through spatial positioning, resolving the contradiction between focused relevance and broad exploration.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments related topics into multiple categories or groups arranged in different spatial zones around the central topic. Each segment represents a different perspective or aspect, allowing users to explore diverse viewpoints while maintaining connection to the primary topic, thus addressing both relevance and perspective breadth.
2Loss of information
If users perform multiple repetitive searches to explore related topics and perspectives, then comprehensive information can be gathered, but network latency and computing costs increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by pre-computing and visualizing related topics, their relationships, and perspectives in a single interactive display. Instead of requiring users to perform multiple sequential searches, the system anticipates exploration needs and presents relevant information structures in advance, significantly reducing time and computational resources while maintaining information completeness.
3Ease of operation
If conventional linear search results are used, then the search interface is simple and easy to understand, but users experience time-consuming exploration and biased perspectives
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a visual spatial dimension to the search interface while maintaining intuitive interaction. The concentric circle layout with central topic and surrounding related topics provides immediate visual context and relationships, making the interface both visually rich and intuitively understandable, thus improving exploration efficiency without sacrificing ease of use.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods, computer systems, computer-storage media, and graphical user interfaces are provided for providing an interactive search exploration tool. In embodiments, an interactive search exploration tool is presented via a graphical user interface. The tool may include a primary topic, indicating the search query, that is positioned at a center of the interactive search exploration tool. The tool may also include distance indicators indicating extents of relatedness to the primary topic. The distance indicators can be represented as concentric shapes positioned around the primary topic at varying distances. The tool can also include a related topic(s) positioned around the primary topic. The related topic is positioned in proximity to a distance indicator that corresponds with an extent of relatedness of the related topic to the primary topic. Thereafter, in response to a selection of the related topic, a topic content snippet that provides a representation of the related topic is presented.