GEOTEMPORAL SEARCH

• US 20110173193A1
• Filed: 01/12/2010
• Published: 07/14/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 01/12/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: THIONE, GIOVANNI LORENZO, COLLINS, IAN ROBERT, AHN, DAVID DONGJAH, ESFAHANI, HAMED, SALVETTI, FRANCO, STERRETT, TOBY TAKEO, BIENIOSEK, MICHAEL PAUL, SHIRAKYAN, GRIGOR
• Granted Patent: US 8,260,775 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 707/725
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/2428 Query predicate definition using graphical user interfaces, including menus and forms G06F16/2423 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/29 Geographical information databases

Abstract

Computer-readable media and a computing device are described for providing geotemporal search and a search interface therefor. A search interface having a location portion and a timeline portion is provided. A geographic area is selected in the location portion by adjusting the visible area of a map. A temporal window is selected in the timeline portion by adjusting sliders along a timeline to a desired start and end time. The start and end times can be in the past, present, or future. A geotemporal search is executed based on the selected geographic area and temporal window to identify search results having associated metadata indicating a relationship to the selected geographic area and temporal window. One or more search terms are optionally provided to further refine the geotemporal search.

Claims

1. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed by a computing device, perform a method for identifying search results based on a graphical user-interface, the method comprising:

providing a visual representation of a user-selectable geographic region and a user-selectable timeline on a graphical interface;

receiving a selection of a geographic area in the geographic region, wherein the geographic area comprises a portion of the geographic region that is visible on the graphical interface;

receiving a selection of a temporal window in the timeline;

identifying one or more search results that are semantically related to both the geographic area and the temporal window, wherein the search results are identified from a datastore that houses a plurality of search results that include one or more associated metadata indicating a relationship with a location and a time.

2. The media of claim 1, further comprising:

ranking the one or more search results based at least on their relationship to the geographic area and the temporal window.

3. The media of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving an indication of a change in one or both of the geographic area and the temporal window; and

identifying one or more changed search results based on the changed one or both of the geographic area and the changed temporal window, wherein the changed search results are the same or different from the one or more search results.

4. The media of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a search query term;

refining the one or more search results based on the search query term.

5. The media of claim 1, wherein the selection of the geographic area is provided by adjusting a visible area of the geographic region on the graphical interface.

6. The media of claim 1, wherein the indication of the temporal window is provided by selecting a start time and an end time on the timeline, and wherein the start time and the end time are one or more of a time in the past, present, or future.

7. The media of claim 1, wherein the plurality of search results include data elements uploaded to the datastore by a user, the data elements including metadata describing one or more of the time and geographic location from which the data elements were uploaded to the datastore, and a user-identified time and geographic location associated with the data elements.

8. The media of claim 1, wherein an indicator of one or more of the search results are plotted on the visual representation of the geographic area at a location corresponding to the metadata associated with the search result.

9. The media of claim 1, wherein an indicator of one or more of the search results are plotted on the visual representation of the temporal window at a location corresponding to the metadata associated with the search result.

10. A computing device having a processor for generating a search interface, the search interface comprising:

a location portion in which a visual representation of a geographic area is presented, the visual representation useable to identify a user-selectable geographic location;

a timeline portion in which a visual representation of a user-selectable temporal window is identified, the timeline portion including one or more features for adjusting the location and length of the temporal window,

wherein one or more search results are identified based on a user-selected geographic location and temporal window, and

wherein an indication of a pinpoint location associated with each of the one or more search results is displayed at a respective location on the visual representation of the geographic area in the location portion, the indications selectable to view content associated with the search result.

11. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the visual representation of the geographic area includes one of a map, an image, or a hybrid image.

12. The computing device of claim 10, wherein the timeline portion comprises a timeline that depicts a temporal distribution of search results.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the one or more features for adjusting the location and length of the temporal region include a first slider for selecting a start time and a second slider for selecting an end time of the temporal region, and wherein the first and second sliders are set to any time in the past, present, or future.

14. The computing device of claim 10, further comprising:

a search results portion displaying at least a portion of the content associated with the search results.

15. The computing device of claim 10, further comprising:

a geographic location information portion that displays content associated with the identified geographic location.

16. The computing device of claim 10, further comprising:

a search query field that is configured to receive a search term, wherein the one or more search results are refined based on the search term.

17. One or more computer-readable media having computer-executable instructions embodied thereon that, when executed, perform a method for providing a geotemporal search, the method comprising:

receiving a selection of a geographic location via a geographic location selection portion of a graphical user-interface (GUI) that includes a map comprising one or more of a drawing, an image, and a hybrid image, and includes a feature for navigating the map to a desired geographic location;

receiving a selection of a time window via a temporal region selection portion of the GUI comprising a timeline having a feature for selecting a start time and an end time for the time window, wherein the start time and end time are in one or more of the past, present, or future;

identifying a search result based on the selected geographic location and time window, wherein the search result is one or more of related to the selected geographic location and time window or is associated with metadata corresponding to the geographic location and time window; and

presenting an indication of the search result on the map at a location therein that corresponds to one or more of the content and metadata associated with the search result.

18. The media of claim 17, further comprising:

receiving a search term at a search query field; and

identifying the search result based on the selected geographic location, the selected time window, and the search term.

19. The media of claim 17, wherein the search result is only identified when the search result is relevant to a location that is currently visible on the map and a time that is currently included in the time window.

20. The media of claim 17, further comprising:

identifying one or more of an advertisement and a paid listing that are relevant to one or more of the geographic location and the time window.