Event visualization based on unstructured data

• US 9,514,257 B1
• Filed: 09/12/2012
• Issued: 12/06/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/30/2011
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Lockheed Martin Corporation (Martin Marietta Corporation)
• Inventors: Crutchfield, James H. Jr., Salemann, Leo
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Merilyn
• Application Number:
  US13/611,082
• Time in Patent Office: 1,546 Days
• Field of Search: 707/802
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/20 Design optimisation, verification or simulation optimisation, verification or simulation of circuit designs G06F30/30
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 30/33 Design verification, e.g. functional simulation or model checking
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 11/206 Drawing of charts or graphs

Abstract

A method, apparatus and computer readable medium for visualizing an event from unstructured data is described, including generating a plurality of structured data units from a plurality of unstructured data, each structured data unit having a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value; and generating a data structure comprising a sequence of the structured data units.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

processing, by a processing device, a plurality of unstructured data comprising data that is arranged so as to be understood or interpreted by a human reader;

generating, by the processing device, a plurality of structured data units from the plurality of unstructured data based on the processing, each structured data unit having a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value;

generating a data structure comprising a sequence of the structured data units; and

generating a simulation definition file based on the data structure, the simulation definition file containing instructions for directing a simulator to generate a visualization of the sequence of the structured data units on a display device, wherein generating the simulation definition file based on the data structure comprises;

accessing the data structure;

processing the structured data units, including, for each structured data unit;

identifying an action from at least one database based on the behavior value;

identifying a person or object from the at least one database based on the identity value;

identifying a geolocation from the at least one database based on the location value; and

identifying a time based on the time value;

generating instructions for directing the simulator to generate a visualization of the structured data units based on the identified behaviors, objects, locations and times of the structured data units; and

storing the instructions as the simulation definition file.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein each identity value identifies a person or object.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each location value identifies a geolocation or proximity thereto.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein each behavior value identifies an action, movement, transaction or interaction.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein generating the plurality of structured data units from the plurality of unstructured data further comprises:

determining that at least one of a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value for each structured data unit cannot be determined solely based on the unstructured data; and

in response to a determination that at least one of a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value for each structured data unit cannot be determined solely based on the unstructured data, estimating the at least one time value, identity value, location value or a behavior value based on a secondary data source.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of unstructured data includes data corresponding to at least one of text and human-spoken language.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the plurality of unstructured data is obtained from an electronic source including at least one of a news article, a blog, a book, a journal, a magazine, an advertisement, metadata, a report, a health record, an audio file, a video file, a text-based file, a partially text-based file, a non-text file, a transcript, a brief, and an e-mail.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the sequence of the structured data units comprises a chronological sequence, and further comprising:

determining the chronological sequence of the structured data units based on the time value associated with each of the plurality of structured data units.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the plurality of unstructured data includes data corresponding to at least one of text and human spoken language prose.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one text and human spoken language prose comprises English prose.

11. An apparatus comprising:

one or more processors configured to perform the functions of;

generating a plurality of structured data units from a plurality of unstructured data, each structured data unit having a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value, wherein unstructured data is data that is arranged so as to be understood or interpreted by a human reader;

generating a data structure comprising a sequence of the structured data units; and

generating a simulation definition file based on the data structure, the simulation definition file containing instructions for directing a simulator to generate a visualization of the sequence of the structured data units on a display device, wherein generating the simulation definition file based on the data structure comprises;

accessing the data structure;

processing the structured data units, including, for each structured data unit;

identifying an action from at least one database based on the behavior value;

identifying a person or object from the at least one database based on the identity value;

identifying a geolocation from the at least one database based on the location value; and

identifying a time based on the time value;

generating instructions for directing the simulator to generate a visualization of the structured data units based on the identified behaviors, objects, locations and times of the structured data units; and

storing the instructions as the simulation definition file.

12. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each identity value identifies a person or object.

13. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each location value identifies a geolocation or proximity thereto.

14. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each behavior value identifies an action, movement, transaction or interaction.

15. The apparatus of claim 11, wherein generating the plurality of structured data units from the plurality of unstructured data further comprises:

determining that at least one of a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value for each structured data unit cannot be determined solely based on the unstructured data; and

in response to a determination that at least one of a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value for each structured data unit cannot be determined solely based on the unstructured data, estimating the at least one time value, identity value, location value or a behavior value based on a secondary data source.

16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions capable of instructing a processor to perform a method comprising:

generating a plurality of structured data units from a plurality of unstructured data, each structured data unit having a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value, wherein the unstructured data comprises prose;

generating a data structure comprising a sequence of the structured data units; and

generating a simulation definition file based on the data structure, the simulation definition file containing instructions for directing a simulator to generate a visualization of the sequence of the structured data units on a display device, wherein generating the simulation definition file based on the data structure comprises;

accessing the data structure;

processing the structured data units, including, for each structured data unit;

identifying an action from at least one database based on the behavior value;

identifying a person or object from the at least one database based on the identity value;

identifying a geolocation from the at least one database based on the location value; and

identifying a time based on the time value;

generating instructions for directing the simulator to generate a visualization of the structured data units based on the identified behaviors, objects, locations and times of the structured data units; and

storing the instructions as the simulation definition file.

17. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein each location value identifies a geolocation or proximity thereto.

18. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein each behavior value identifies an action, movement, transaction or interaction.

19. The non-transitory computer readable medium of claim 16, wherein generating the plurality of structured data units from the plurality of unstructured data further comprises:

determining that at least one of a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value for each structured data unit cannot be determined solely based on the unstructured data; and

in response to a determination that at least one of a time value, an identity value, a location value and a behavior value for each structured data unit cannot be determined solely based on the unstructured data, estimating the at least one time value, identity value, location value or a behavior value based on a secondary data source.