SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR USER-CONTROLLED, MULTI-DIMENSIONAL NAVIGATION AND/OR SUBJECT-BASED AGGREGATION AND/OR MONITORING OF MULTIMEDIA DATA

• US 20090150832A1
• Filed: 02/23/2006
• Published: 06/11/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/23/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Netbreeze GmbH (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Netbreezegmbh
• Inventors: Ruef, Francois, Keller, Leo
• Granted Patent: US 9,268,455 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 715/854
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9024 Graphs; Linked lists G06F16/9027 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/904 Browsing; Visualisation therefor for navigating the web G06F16/954; browsing optimisation for the web G06F16/957
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0481 based on specific properties of the displayed interaction object or a metaphor-based environment, e.g. interaction with desktop elements like windows or icons, or assisted by a cursor's changing behaviour or appearance

Abstract

A system and method for user-controlled multi-dimensional navigation and/or subject-based aggregation of multimedia data, a multiplicity of node elements being generated and a node element including one or more search terms and/or weighting terms that can be logically combined. For each multimedia data element to be registered, a relevance index parameter is determined for each paired combination of node elements and allocated to the respective pair of node elements. In dependence on the relevance index parameters, one- or multi-dimensional distance factors are determined. Based on the registered multimedia data elements and/or node elements, a topological navigation map is generated and graphically displayed in dependence on the respective one- or multi-dimensional distance factors so that the user can navigate in the topological navigation map by an input device and can access required multimedia data elements and/or node elements.

Claims

1-27. -27. (canceled)

28. A method for user controlled multi-dimensional navigation of multimedia data, comprising:

generating and/or extracting a multiplicity of node elements out of multimedia data to be registered, a node element comprising one or more extracted and/or generated search terms and/or weighting terms that can be logically combined;

determining a relevance index parameter for each multimedia data element to be registered for each paired combination of node elements and that is allocated to the respective pair of node elements;

determining, in dependence on the relevance index parameters, one- or multi-dimensional distance factors, the absolute value of the corresponding distance factor becoming smaller with increasing relevance of two paired multimedia data elements with respect to one another;

generating and graphically displaying, on the basis of the registered multimedia data elements and/or node elements, a topological navigation map in dependence on the respective one- or multi-dimensional distance factors; and

wherein the user navigates in the topological navigation map by an input device and accesses desired multimedia data elements and/or node elements, wherein following user-specific selection of an initiating node element and/or multimedia data element and/or produced clusters of node elements and/or multimedia data elements, the topological navigation map is corrected in perspective with respect to the initiating node element and/or multimedia data element and/or clusters and displayed accessible to the user.

29. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the user, by a topographic input device including at least one graphical, two-dimensional input element, navigates between node elements and/or multimedia data elements and/or produced clusters of node elements and/or multimedia data elements by selection.

30. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the distance factors are determined by a spring model module.

31. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the distance factors are determined by a maximum entropy module.

32. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the relevance index parameters and/or distance factors are generated and/or determined dynamically on the basis of the selection of a node element and/or multimedia data element.

33. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein the node element, on the basis of which the first display of the navigation map is generated, takes place by selection of one or plural search terms by the user and/or otherwise user-specifically.

34. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein relevance index parameters are determined in accordance with the frequency of the search terms and/or weighting terms in a paired combination of node elements.

35. The method as claimed in claim 28, wherein one or more search terms, which can be logically combined, are stored in a data memory, a computing unit accesses network nodes connected to source databases via a network, and data of the source databases are selected on the basis of the search terms,

in a data memory, at least one weighting parameter is stored allocated to a search term and/or a logical combination of search terms,

wherein by a filter module of the computing unit, a multiplicity of source databases of the network nodes are accessed and a weighting list with found data records is generated for each weighting parameter in conjunction with the associated search terms, at least one source database type and/or a time information of the occurrence of the documents in this source database and/or location information of the source database is stored allocated to each of the data records found, and wherein, by a parameterizing module, one or more variable mood variables are generated at least partially dynamically on the basis of the weighting list, the associated source database types and/or the time information and/or location information for the respective weighting parameter, which variable mood variables correspond to temporal mood fluctuations of users of the network, the extracted search terms and/or weighting terms and/or node elements comprising at least the mood variables.

36. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the weighting list with the data records found and/or references to data records found is stored accessible to a user in a content module of the computing unit.

37. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the mood variables are periodically checked by the computing unit and if at least one of the mood variables is outside a determinable fluctuation tolerance or a determinable expected value, the corresponding weighting list with the data records found and/or references to data records found is stored accessible to a user and/or updated in the content module of the computing unit.

38. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein one or more of the weighting parameters are generated by a lexicographical weighting database.

39. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein one or more of the weighting parameters are generated dynamically by the computing unit during generation of the weighting list.

40. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein, for generating the variable mood variables and/or the data of the content module, HTML and/or HDML and/or WML and/or VRML and/or ASD are used.

41. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein a user profile is created by user information, user-specifically optimized data being generated on the basis of found data records stored in the content module and/or references to found data records by a repackaging module, taking into consideration the data of the user profile, which user-specifically optimized data are provided to the user stored in the content module of the computing unit.

42. The method as claimed in claim 41, wherein different user profiles for different communication devices of the user are stored allocated to the user.

43. The method as claimed in claim 41, wherein data relating to user behavior are automatically registered by the computing unit and stored allocated to the user profile.

44. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein by a history module, for each calculated variable mood variable, the values up to a determinable past time are stored.

45. The method as claimed in claim 44, wherein the computing unit calculates by an extrapolation module expected values for a determinable mood variable on the basis of the data of the history module for a determinable future time and stores these values in a data memory of the computing unit.

46. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein the source databases comprise different news groups and/or mail fora and/or WWW servers and/or chat servers and/or journal servers and/or subject boards and/or field-specific databases.

47. The method as claimed in claim 35, wherein a monitoring module, on the basis of the variable mood variable, triggers following a determinable event, the triggering occurring independence on the time variation of the mood variable.

54. A computer program product that can be loaded in the internal memory of a digital computer and comprises software code sections by which the method according to claim 28 can be carried out when the product is running on a computer.

48. A system for user-controlled multi-dimensional navigation in multimedia data, comprising:

a topological navigation map comprising a multiplicity of selectable node elements, a node element comprising one or more search terms and/or weighting terms that can be logically combined;

wherein distances within the navigation map are determined in dependence on relevance index parameters on the basis of one- or multi-dimensional distance factors, the absolute value of the corresponding distance factor becoming smaller with increasing relevance of two paired multimedia data elements with respect to one another; and

a topological input device by which the topological navigation map is navigable for the user and the required multimedia data elements and/or node elements are accessible, wherein for navigation in the topological navigation map by the user, required node elements and/or multimedia data elements and/or produced clusters of node elements can be selected by the input device and the topological navigation map can be corrected in perspective on the basis of the selection and newly displayed.

49. The system as claimed in claim 48, wherein the navigation map can be navigable by topographic input device having at least one graphical, two-dimensional input element for the user between node elements and/or multimedia data elements and/or produced clusters of node elements and/or multimedia data elements by selection.

50. The system as claimed in claim 48, further comprising a spring model module that determines the distance factors.

51. The system as claimed in claim 48, further comprising a maximum entropy module that determines the distance factors.

52. The system as claimed in claim 48, wherein the relevance index parameters and/or distance factors are generated and/or determined dynamically on the basis of the selection of a node element and/or multimedia data element.

53. The system as claimed in claim 48, wherein the node element, on the basis of which the first display of the navigation map is generated, takes place by selection of one or more search terms by the user and/or otherwise user-specifically.