Visual Floor Plan Search Using Drag-and-Drop Room Placement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional methods of searching for floor plans online are inefficient, as users must manually sift through numerous results based on criteria like square footage and room count, without considering the specific layout and placement of rooms, leading to overwhelming and mismatched results.
Innovation Solution
A visual plan search application that allows users to specify desired room placement and layout through a user interface, enabling the filtering of floor plans based on the placement and relationship of room objects within an interactive workspace, using a grid system to match user preferences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If traditional database queries are used to search for floor plans based on criteria like number of bedrooms and square footage, then a large number of plans can be retrieved, but the user must manually comb through overwhelming results without being able to visualize layout and placement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from traditional one-dimensional text-based search criteria (number of bedrooms, square footage) to a two-dimensional visual drag-and-drop interface where users can directly place room icons on a canvas to specify layout and placement. This dimensional change allows users to visually construct their desired floor plan layout, making it easier to locate matching plans without manually sifting through overwhelming text-based results.
2Speed
If traditional search criteria are used, then searches can be performed quickly, but the results do not align with what the user actually desires in terms of layout and room placement
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by automatically generating multiple floor plan options that match the user's visual layout specification before the user even completes their search. The drag-and-drop interface allows users to define their desired layout in advance, and the system pre-processes the search to return only plans that match this visual specification, eliminating the need for users to manually filter through mismatched results.
3Measurement precision
If detailed visual layout specifications are required, then search accuracy improves, but the complexity of the search interface increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses copying by providing users with pre-made room type icons (bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, etc.) that can be easily dragged and dropped onto the canvas. Instead of requiring users to manually draw or configure complex room specifications, the system provides simplified icon representations that can be copied and placed to quickly define the desired layout, reducing interface complexity while maintaining search accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A computing device for searching floor plans selects a floor plan from a plurality of floor plans based on where different types of room objects are positioned by a user within an interactive workspace and how many of each different type of room object is included by the user within the interactive workspace, and outputs the floor plan to an output interface of the computing device.