NetTree Network Data Visualization with Hierarchical Segmentation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional graph applications are limited in modeling relationships between objects, particularly failing to represent complex systems with high-order nodes and links, and do not easily indicate parentage or superiority between entities, requiring significant space and making it difficult to understand relationships as the number of relationships increases.
Innovation Solution
A system and method for visualizing and navigating network data using a NetTree application that parses input data to determine nodes and links, selects a start node, iterates through links to add new nodes and links to a network tree, and displays the tree using a graphical user interface (GUI) with visual cues like color and whitespace to indicate organization, allowing users to interact and view properties.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a drawn graph is used to model relationships, then relationships between entities can be represented, but it requires a large amount of space and becomes difficult to understand as the number of relationships increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network data into a hierarchical tree structure with nodes and lines, where each node represents an entity and each line represents a relationship. This segmentation allows complex networks to be broken down into manageable hierarchical levels, reducing the visual clutter and space requirements while maintaining the ability to represent relationships between entities.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a hierarchical dimension to represent relationships, transforming the traditional two-dimensional graph into a multi-level hierarchical structure. By organizing entities into parent-child relationships across multiple levels, the system can represent complex relationships in a more compact and understandable format without requiring proportional space increases.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a drawn graph is used to model relationships, then relationships can be shown, but it fails to indicate parentage or superiority of one entity over another
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments relationships into directed parent-child connections within the hierarchical tree structure. Each line in the tree explicitly connects a parent node to a child node, clearly indicating parentage and superiority relationships. This segmentation allows the system to preserve and display hierarchical information that would be lost in traditional undirected graphs.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a drawn graph is used to model relationships, then nodes and links can be displayed, but it fails to present properties of nodes and links
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a universal property system where both nodes and lines can have multiple associated properties stored and retrieved. The tree data structure is designed to accommodate arbitrary properties for each node and line, allowing the system to display not only the structural relationships but also additional information such as names, values, and other attributes without requiring separate visualization mechanisms.
4Ease of manufacture
If conventional graph applications are used, then graphical displays can be created, but they are limited to drawn graphs and fail to indicate properties
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network representation into a hierarchical tree structure with explicit parent-child relationships, allowing complex systems to be modeled in a more structured and manageable way. This segmentation enables the representation of high-order nodes and links while maintaining ease of creation through systematic parsing of input data into the tree format.
Data Source
AI summary
A system for visualizing and navigating network data may include at least one computing device that receives input data using a NetTree application. The NetTree application may parse the input data and determine a list of nodes in a network and a list of links between nodes in the network from the input data. One of the nodes may be selected as a start node and inserted into a line of a network tree. After selecting the start node, the NetTree application may iterate through each of the links between the nodes in the network and add each new node that is not yet added to the network tree to a list of nodes to check for their links. Each link is added to a line in the network tree. A graphical user interface (GUI) may display the network tree.