Mobile Location Disambiguation via Candidate Entity Selection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Mobile mapping applications do not automatically correlate geographic coordinates with semantic location entities, requiring users to manually input location names to access additional information, which is inconvenient and limits immediate access to relevant data.
Innovation Solution
A method that provides a list of nearby location entities with confidence scoring for automatic disambiguation, allowing users to select the correct location entity, and includes features for manual disambiguation through user confirmation, search, or manual entry, enhancing the mapping application interface with additional information display elements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If geographic coordinates are displayed without automatic correlation to location entities, then the system maintains simplicity and avoids complex disambiguation processes, but users cannot immediately access additional information about their current location
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by generating a list of candidate location entities and presenting them to the user before final identification. This allows the system to prepare multiple possibilities in advance, reducing the complexity of real-time disambiguation while enabling quick access to location information.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces an intermediary disambiguation interface that mediates between geographic coordinates and location entity names. This intermediary layer presents candidate entities to the user and facilitates selection, solving the contradiction by adding a controlled layer of complexity that enables information access without requiring the entire disambiguation system to be fully automated or overly complex.
2Measurement precision
If the system presents a list of candidate location entities for user selection, then automatic disambiguation capability is improved, but the time required to identify the current location entity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies partial action by presenting only a limited list of candidate location entities that are most likely to match the user's current location, rather than displaying all possible entities. This selective approach maintains high identification accuracy while minimizing the time required for user selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes parameters by ordering candidate location entities based on relevance metrics such as distance from current coordinates, popularity, or category matching. This parameter-based sorting reduces the effective search space and enables faster identification without sacrificing accuracy.
3Reliability
If manual disambiguation features are added to allow user confirmation and search, then the system's ability to handle ambiguous locations improves, but the ease of operation decreases due to additional user steps required
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies inversion by providing confirmation features that allow users to verify whether the automatically selected location entity is correct, rather than requiring users to manually search and select from all possibilities. This inverted approach maintains reliability by enabling correction of automatic selections while reducing operational complexity compared to full manual selection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements self-service features where the system automatically performs disambiguation based on user selection, and users can confirm or correct the system's choices. This self-service mechanism improves reliability by allowing user verification while maintaining ease of operation through automated processing of the disambiguation logic.
Data Source
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AI summary
Computer-implemented methods and systems for disambiguation of location entities associated with the current geographic location of a mobile device include obtaining data indicative of a current geographic location of the mobile device and providing map imagery of a geographic area associated with such current location. A first interface element is provided for display on the map imagery at a location indicative of the current geographic location of the mobile device. Data indicative of user selection of the first interface element can be received. A list of nearby location entities is then provided for display for a user to manually select which one of the nearby location entities matches the current geographic location of the mobile device. Data indicative of user selection of one of the nearby location entities is received. A second interface element providing information about the selected location entity then is provided for display on the map imagery.