Map Interface Overlay for Location Relationship Display
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Solution Overview
Problem
Users of intelligent terminals face difficulties in maintaining a sense of direction and distance when navigating with existing map display functions, leading to low navigation efficiency and poor user experience due to the need to manually move or scale maps, which can result in the target location disappearing from view.
Innovation Solution
A method and system where a terminal sends a request message to a map server with the current location's identifier, allowing the server to determine and return the location relationship, including distance and orientation, between the current and target locations, enabling the display of this information on the map, even when the target location is out of view.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If users manually move or scale the map to view surrounding information, then the user can explore ambient environment, but the user loses sense of direction and distance, and the target location may disappear from view
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the map interface into multiple functional layers: the base map layer for navigation, and an overlay layer displaying surrounding information (restaurants, entertainment, etc.). This segmentation allows users to explore surroundings without losing the target location context, as the overlay provides additional information while the base map maintains spatial orientation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a new dimension of information display by showing surrounding amenities as overlay elements on top of the map. Instead of requiring users to manually pan and zoom to discover surroundings, the system adds a vertical layer of information that provides contextual data about the area without disrupting the horizontal map navigation and spatial relationships.
2Adaptability or versatility
If users manually move the map to find surrounding information, then the user can query ambient environment, but navigation efficiency decreases and user experience deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system pre-calculates and displays surrounding information (restaurants, entertainment venues, etc.) based on the current map view and target location. Instead of requiring users to manually explore by moving the map, the system proactively provides relevant surrounding information in the interface, allowing users to quickly assess the area without time-consuming manual navigation.
Solution Approach 2:
The map system automatically identifies and displays surrounding amenities and environmental information based on the current view and target location. The system serves itself by autonomously gathering and presenting relevant contextual data about the area, eliminating the need for users to manually search or query each surrounding element individually.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides systems and methods that perform actions including: receiving a user input selecting a current location within a map displayed on a screen of the terminal device; generating a request message indicating a request for a location relationship between the selected current location and a target location, the request message including an identifier of the current location, the target location being a location currently or previously displayed on the map; transmitting the request message to a map server configured to determine a geographical location of the current location and a geographical location of the target location; receiving, from the map server, a location relationship between the current location and the target location, wherein the location relationship is determined based on the geographical location of the current location and the geographical location of the target location; and displaying a graphical indicator representing the location relationship.