Local Search Result Reordering for User Privacy and Accuracy

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Solution Overview

Problem

Mapping services fail to provide user-specific and relevant search results, as they rely on crowd-sourced data that does not account for individual user intentions or preferences, leading to inefficient use of screen space and potential exposure of private information.

Innovation Solution

The techniques involve augmenting search results on a user's device using locally stored user-specific information, such as location history, calendar events, and message data, to reorder and graphically indicate results based on relevance, thereby keeping sensitive information private and improving search accuracy.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Adaptability or versatility

If mapping services use crowd-sourced data to rank locations, then search results reflect popular destinations, but the results fail to account for individual user intentions and preferences

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveuser-specific relevanceVSAvoiduser intent information

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The patent segments the search result ranking process into two independent components: (1) crowd-sourced popular location data processed by the mapping service, and (2) user-specific information processed locally on the user's device. This segmentation allows each component to operate independently without requiring sharing of sensitive user data, thereby maintaining user-specific relevance while preserving privacy.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The user's computing device acts as an intermediary that receives search results from the mapping service and autonomously re-ranks them using locally stored user-specific information. This intermediary role enables personalized ranking without transmitting sensitive user data to external services, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and information loss.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Measurement precision

If mapping services collect and process user-specific information, then search results become more accurate to user intent, but private and sensitive information may be shared with third parties

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesearch accuracyVSAvoidprivacy exposure

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent extracts the user-specific information processing function from the remote mapping service and relocates it to the user's local computing device. This extraction ensures that sensitive information never leaves the user's device, eliminating privacy exposure risks while maintaining search accuracy through locally performed re-ranking operations.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Solution Approach 2:

The user's computing device performs self-service by autonomously accessing and processing its own stored user-specific information to re-rank search results. This self-service approach eliminates the need to share private information with third parties, as the device independently handles the entire re-ranking process using only locally available data.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

3Adaptability or versatility

If mapping services send user-specific information to remote services, then personalized search results can be generated, but processing power, bandwidth, and battery power are consumed

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvepersonalization capabilityVSAvoiddevice processing energy

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSUse of energy by moving object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by having the computing device perform only the re-ranking operation on the search results received from the mapping service, rather than conducting a complete search. This partial processing approach enables personalization capability while minimizing energy consumption, as the device leverages the mapping service's search infrastructure and only adds the lightweight re-ranking step locally.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #16Partial or excessive action

4Productivity

If mapping services present uniform search results to all users, then device complexity is reduced, but screen space efficiency decreases due to irrelevant results

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvescreen space efficiencyVSAvoidlocal processing complexity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies local quality by implementing personalization logic specifically at the user's computing device rather than requiring changes to the mapping service's core architecture. This localized approach improves screen space efficiency by displaying relevant results while adding minimal complexity only where needed, leaving the remote service simple and unchanged.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS11768839B2Augmenting search results with user-specific information

Publication Date: 2023.09.26 MICROSOFT TECHNOLOGY LICENSING LLC

AI summary

Techniques for augmenting or modifying ordered results include sending a search query to a location service, receiving ordered results responsive to the search query, and augmenting or modifying the search results based on user-specific information stored locally at a consumer computing device. The ordered results may be augmented by reordering a search result in the list of search results based on the user-specific information, and/or by graphically representing a location included in the ordered search results based on the user-specific information. The augmented search results may be presented on a display associated with the consumer computing device in a manner specific to a user of the consumer computing device.