Visualization of streaming real-time data

• US 9,117,007 B2
• Filed: 05/14/2008
• Issued: 08/25/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 05/14/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Robertson, George G., Schormann, Christian Bernd, Ruble, Brian Scott, Fisher, Danyel A., Nielsen, Jakob Peter, McCoy, Nathan Paul, Morein, William G., Ehrenberg, Michael
• Primary Examiner(s): Eskandarnia, Arvin
• Assistant Examiner(s): DESAI, MARGISHI V
• Application Number:
  US12/120,264
• Publication Number:
  US 20090287814A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,659 Days
• Field of Search: 707/5, 345/156, 345/433, 709/224
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/765 intermediate

Abstract

A system facilitates dynamic data visualizations. The system includes an analysis component that periodically processes one or more incoming data streams to determine a visualization form from a plurality of visualization forms. A visualization component dynamically generates the visualization form based in part on the processing of the incoming data streams.

Claims

1. A system to facilitate dynamic data visualizations, comprising:

a processor;

an analysis component that is configured to be operated by the processor to periodically process an incoming data stream to;

determine, based on processing of a first part of the data stream, an initial visualization form of a plurality of visualization forms for graphically charting a first part of the data stream in a first type of visualization format; and

determine, based on subsequent processing of the first part of the data stream, predictive data;

determine at least one subsequent visualization form for graphically charting the first part of the data stream and the predictive data in a second type of visualization format different than the first type of visualization format;

a visualization component that is configured to be operated by the processor to dynamically generate the initial visualization form based on the processing of the first part of the data stream, to display the initial visualization form, and to dynamically generate and automatically transition from displaying the initial visualization form to displaying the at least one subsequent visualization form by morphing the initial visualization form to the subsequent visualization form; and

a rollback component that is configured to enable user control of animations along dimensions of time, wherein the rollback component is further configured to cause the displaying of the subsequent visualization form to roll back to the displaying of the initial visualization form.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the analysis component further comprises a visualization format selector, a data mining component, or an inference component.

3. The system of claim 2, wherein the analysis component is further configured to be operated by the processor to determine a fit of at least one visualization form to a data set associated with the incoming data stream.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the analysis component is further configured to be operated by the processor to determine the fit in part based off of a threshold parameter or from an informational value and a perceptual cost of changing a visualization.

5. The system of claim 1, further comprising a transition component that is configured to be operated by the processor to control a rate at which the initial visualization form changes into the at least one subsequent visualization form.

6. The system of claim 5, wherein the transition component includes a morphing component to control animation of the change of the initial visualization form into the at least one subsequent visualization form.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein the analysis component is further configured to be operated by the processor to receive a cue in the incoming data stream indicating that the at least one subsequent visualization form is more suitable than the initial visualization form for visualizing the first part of the data stream.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the plurality of visualization forms include at least one of a graph, a chart, a tree, a multi-dimensional depiction, a video display, audio describing data, an image, or a hybrid presentation where output is segmented into multiple display areas.

9. The system of claim 1, further comprising a component configured to be operated by the processor to analyze an event received from the incoming data stream.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the event is propagated through aggregated data and indicates that a change has occurred in the data.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the morphing the initial visualization form to the subsequent visualization form comprises adding a plurality of points to the initial visualization form to create at least one new shape based on the subsequent processing of the first and second parts of the data stream.

12. The system of claim 1, further comprising an auxiliary visualization component that includes at least one of a preview component for temporal snapshots, a timeline of visualizations, a rapid gesture component, or selective user controls.

13. The system of claim 12, further comprising a histogram component configured to be operated by the processor to enable search results to be visualized in a scroll area of a display.

14. The system of claim 12, further comprising a feedback component configured to be operated by the processor to enable users to guide visualizations or further query a system for subsequent predictive analysis.

15. The system of claim 1, wherein the morphing the initial visualization form to the subsequent visualization form comprises removing a plurality of points from the initial visualization form based on the predictive data.

16. A computer-implemented data visualization method, comprising:

analyzing data from one or more data streams;

determining a first graph for visualization of the data from a set of potential graphs, the determining based at least in part on one or more selection thresholds and the data;

displaying the data with the first graph;

performing a subsequent analysis of the data, the subsequent analysis including applying inference techniques to the data to generate predictive values;

determining, based on the predictive values associated with the data, a second graph for visualization of the data and the predictive values from the set of potential graphs, the second graph having a different visualization form than the first graph; and

transitioning between the first graph having a first visualization form and the second graph having the different visualization form, the transitioning including morphing the first graph from the first graph having the first visualization form to the second graph having the different visualization form, wherein the first graph and the second graph are different types of graphs.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising data mining or inferring patterns from the one or more data streams to determine the predictive values.

18. One or more computer-readable storage devices encoded with instructions that are executable by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to carry out a process for facilitating dynamic data visualizations, the process comprising:

monitoring data over time;

determining at least one visualization from the data, the visualization comprising at least a first chart of a first part of the data;

generating the visualization;

displaying the visualization;

generating a subsequent visualization with a different type of visualization format than a visualization format of the visualization based at least in part on the monitoring the first part of the data and a second part of the data, the subsequent visualization comprising at least a second chart of the first part of the data and of the second part of the data, wherein the first chart and the second chart are different kinds of charts; and

transitioning between the different kinds of charts by morphing the visualization to the subsequent visualization based at least in part on one or more selection thresholds associated with a mapping from the subsequent visualization to the first part of the data and the second part of the data.

19. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 18, wherein the process for facilitating dynamic data visualizations further comprises controlling animations along dimensions of time.

20. The one or more computer-readable storage devices of claim 18, wherein the first chart and the second chart include different ones of a pie chart, a bar chart, a line chart, an area chart, a plateau chart, and a composite chart.