Smart Zooming of Geographic Representations
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mapping services face challenges in presenting detailed information effectively, as the amount of data can overwhelm display capabilities and user comprehension, especially when zooming in for more detail, leading to difficulties in quickly identifying relevant information.
Innovation Solution
A method and system for custom zooming of geographic representations, which determines the relevance of objects based on user context, device capabilities, and zoom level, allowing for differential rendering of map objects such as varying text size, color, and visibility to prioritize important information.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If detailed mapping information is displayed at higher zoom levels, then the amount of information available increases, but the display capability and user comprehension are overwhelmed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating the visibility of map objects based on their relevance to the user's current context. Instead of uniformly displaying all objects at the same visibility level, the system selectively enhances the visibility of relevant objects (those within the user's context) while reducing the visibility of irrelevant objects. This creates a non-uniform display where important information stands out locally, preventing information overload while maintaining comprehensive data availability.
2Quantity of substance
If all map objects are rendered with equal visibility, then completeness of information is maintained, but relevance and importance cannot be highlighted
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments map objects into two distinct groups: relevant objects and irrelevant objects, based on the user's context. This segmentation allows the system to apply different rendering strategies to different subsets of the same data type. Relevant objects are rendered with enhanced visibility characteristics (such as larger icons, different colors, or increased opacity), while irrelevant objects are rendered with reduced visibility. This segmentation preserves the completeness of the underlying data while selectively emphasizing contextual relevance.
3Manufacturing precision
If zoom level increases to show more detail, then the level of detail improves, but the ability to quickly identify relevant information decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes color changes as a visual differentiation mechanism to help users quickly identify relevant information amidst detailed map data. By assigning distinct color characteristics to relevant objects versus irrelevant objects, the system creates immediate visual cues that guide user attention. This color-based differentiation works in conjunction with the increased detail provided by higher zoom levels, allowing users to both see fine details and rapidly locate important elements without time loss.
Data Source
AI summary
An approach is provided for custom zooming of geographic representation. A custom zooming application determines an input specifying a level of zoom for rendering a geographic representation presented at a device, the geographic representation including a plurality of objects. The custom zooming application determines respective degrees of relevance of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on the device, a user of the device, related context information, or a combination thereof. The custom zooming application determines to render one or more of the plurality of objects with at least one different level of visibility with respect to other ones of the plurality of objects based, at least in part, on the respective degrees of relevance, the level of zoom, or a combination thereof.