Situation-aware presentation of information

• US 9,563,326 B2
• Filed: 10/18/2012
• Issued: 02/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Inventors: Bar-Zeev, Avi, Ramos, Gonzalo A., Byron, Michael Chowning
• Primary Examiner(s): Shanmugasundaram, Kannan
• Application Number:
  US13/654,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20140114988A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,573 Days
• Field of Search: 707/724
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/156 Query results presentation
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/168 Details of user interfaces specifically adapted to file systems, e.g. browsing and visualisation, 2d or 3d GUIs query results presentation G06F16/156
• 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

Information may be presented to a user in a way that reflects an awareness of the user'"'"'s current situation. The relationship between user'"'"'s situation, and various people and things, may be analyzed to determine the user'"'"'s proximity to those people and things. (Proximity may refer not only to geographic proximity, but also temporal proximity, relevance proximity, etc.) A user interface may show people and things at different levels of proximity to the user'"'"'s current situation, with the level of proximity being represented visually. The user may reposition the center of focus to one of the people or things depicted. When the center is repositioned, the level of proximity of people and things may be shown relative to the new center of focus, filtered based on existing relationships of those people and things to the user.

Claims

1. A device-readable medium that stores executable instructions for providing information to a user, the executable instructions, when executed by a computer, causing the computer to perform acts comprising:

assessing initial proximity levels of items to a current situation of said user based on a graph comprising;

nodes representative of said items and said user, and edges between nodes indicative of relationships between and among said items and said current situation of said user, wherein said assessing comprises weighting;

(1) a geographic proximity (physical nearness as indicated by the edges of the graph), (2) a temporal proximity (closeness in time as indicated by the edges of the graph), and (3) a relevance proximity (user interest as indicated by the edges of the graph), differently from one another;

generating, on a display, a representation of said user;

generating, on said display, representations of said items such that all displayed representations of items having higher initial proximity levels are displayed physically closer to said displayed representation of said user than any displayed representations of items having lower initial proximity levels;

receiving user input directed to a selected item from among said items;

assessing updated proximity levels of said items, said updated proximity levels being indicative of both a proximity to said current situation of said user and a proximity to said selected item;

generating, on said display, a representation of said selected item co-located with said representation of said user; and

regenerating, on said display, said representations of said items such that all displayed representations of items having higher updated proximity levels are displayed physically closer to said displayed representation of said user than any displayed representations of items having lower updated proximity levels.

2. The device-readable medium of claim 1, wherein said generating said representation of said user comprises generating said representation of said user at a bottom of said display;

and wherein further said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that representations of items having a highest proximity level are displayed above and proximate to said displayed representation of said user, and representations of items having successively lower proximity levels are displayed above said representations of items having said highest proximity level and further from said displayed representation of said user.

3. The device-readable medium of claim 2, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of items having said highest proximity level are displayed within a first discrete horizontal band across a first region of said display and said representations of items having said successively lower proximity levels are displayed within additional discrete horizontal band across additional regions of said display with representations of items having a given proximity level being displayed only within a horizontal band corresponding to that given level.

4. The device-readable medium of claim 1, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of said items having higher proximity levels are displayed utilizing at least one of:

a larger text size, a larger icon, or a more detailed icon than said representations of said items having lower proximity levels.

5. The device-readable medium of claim 3, wherein said generating said representations of said items within discrete horizontal bands across additional regions of said display comprises generating, in response to user scrolling input in a horizontal direction, additional representations of additional items only within a selected discrete horizontal band to which said user scrolling input in said horizontal direction was directed.

6. The device-readable medium of claim 1, wherein said generating said representation of said user comprises generating said representation of said user at a center of said display;

and wherein further said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that representations of items having a highest proximity level are displayed proximate to and surrounding said displayed representation of said user, and representations of items having successively lower proximity levels are displayed radially further from, and still surrounding, said displayed representation of said user.

7. A method of providing information to a user, the method comprising:

using a processor to perform acts comprising;

assessing initial proximity levels of items to a current situation of said user based on a graph comprising;

nodes representative of said items and said user, and edges between nodes indicative of relationships between and among said items and said current situation of said user, wherein said assessing comprises weighting;

(1) a geographic proximity (physical nearness as indicated by the edges of the graph), (2) a temporal proximity (closeness in time as indicated by the edges of the graph), and (3) a relevance proximity (user interest as indicated by the edges of the graph), differently from one another;

generating, on a display communicationally coupled to said processor, a representation of said user;

generating, on said display, representations of said items such that all displayed representations of items having higher initial proximity levels are displayed physically closer to said displayed representation of said user than any displayed representations of items having lower initial proximity levels;

receiving user input directed to a selected item from among said items;

assessing updated proximity levels of said items, said updated proximity levels being indicative of both a proximity to said current situation of said user and a proximity to said selected item;

generating, on said display, a representation of said selected item co-located with said representation of said user; and

regenerating, on said display, said representations of said items such that all displayed representations of items having higher updated proximity levels are displayed physically closer to said displayed representation of said user than any displayed representations of items having lower updated proximity levels.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein said generating said representation of said user comprises generating said representation of said user at a bottom of said display;

and wherein further said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that representations of items having a highest proximity level are displayed above and proximate to said displayed representation of said user, and representations of items having successively lower proximity levels are displayed above said representations of items having said highest proximity level and further from said displayed representation of said user.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of items having said highest proximity level are displayed within a first discrete horizontal band across a first region of said display and said representations of items having said successively lower proximity levels are displayed within additional discrete horizontal band across additional regions of said display with representations of items having a given proximity level being displayed only within a horizontal band corresponding to that given level.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of said items having higher proximity levels are displayed utilizing at least one of:

a larger text size, a larger icon, or a more detailed icon than said representations of said items having lower proximity levels.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein said generating said representations of said items within discrete horizontal bands across additional regions of said display comprises generating, in response to user scrolling input in a horizontal direction, additional representations of additional items only within a selected discrete horizontal band to which said user scrolling input in said horizontal direction was directed.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein said generating said representation of said user comprises generating said representation of said user at a center of said display;

and wherein further said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that representations of items having a highest proximity level are displayed proximate to and surrounding said displayed representation of said user, and representations of items having successively lower proximity levels are displayed radially further from, and still surrounding, said displayed representation of said user.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of items having said highest proximity level are displayed along a first circle and said representations of items having said successively lower proximity levels are displayed along additional circles concentric with each other and the first circle, such that representations of items having a given proximity level are displayed only along a concentric circle corresponding to that given level.

14. A device for providing information to a user, the device comprising:

a memory;

a processor;

a display; and

a component that is stored in said memory, that executes on said processor, and, when executed on said processor, causes said device to perform acts comprising;

assessing initial proximity levels of said items to a current situation of said user based on a graph comprising;

nodes representative of said items and said user, and edges between nodes indicative of relationships between and among said items and said current situation of said user, wherein said assessing comprises weighting;

(1) a geographic proximity (physical nearness as indicated by the edges of the graph), (2) a temporal proximity, (closeness in time as indicated by the edges of the graph), and (3) a relevance proximity (user interest as indicated by the edges of the graph), differently from one another;

generating, on said display, a representation of said user;

generating, on said display, representations of said items such that all displayed representations of items having higher initial proximity levels are displayed physically closer to said displayed representation of said user than any displayed representations of items having lower initial proximity levels;

receiving user input directed to a selected item from among said items;

assessing updated proximity levels of said items, said updated proximity levels being indicative of both a proximity to said current situation of said user and a proximity to said selected item;

generating, on said display, a representation of said selected item co-located with said representation of said user; and

regenerating, on said display, said representations of said items such that all displayed representations of items having higher updated proximity levels are displayed physically closer to said displayed representation of said user than any displayed representations of items having lower updated proximity levels.

15. The device of claim 14, said display showing a representation of said user at a bottom of said display, with representations of items having a highest proximity level shown above and proximate to said displayed representation of said user, and representations of items having successively lower proximity levels shown above said representations of items having said highest proximity levels and further from said displayed representation of said user.

16. The device of claim 15, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of items having said highest proximity level are displayed within a first discrete horizontal band across a first region of said display and said representations of items having said successively lower proximity levels are displayed within additional discrete horizontal band across additional regions of said display with representations of items having a given proximity level being displayed only within a horizontal band corresponding to that given level.

17. The device of claim 14, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of said items having higher proximity levels are displayed utilizing at least one of:

a larger text size, a larger icon, or a more detailed icon than said representations of said items having lower proximity levels.

18. The device of claim 16, wherein said generating said representations of said items within discrete horizontal bands across additional regions of said display comprises generating, in response to user scrolling input in a horizontal direction, additional representations of additional items only within a selected discrete horizontal band to which said user scrolling input in said horizontal direction was directed.

19. The device of claim 14, wherein said generating said representation of said user comprises generating said representation of said user at a center of said display;

and wherein further said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that representations of items having a highest proximity level are displayed proximate to and surrounding said displayed representation of said user, and representations of items having successively lower proximity levels are displayed radially further from, and still surrounding, said displayed representation of said user.

20. The device of claim 19, wherein said generating said representations of said items comprises generating said representations of said items such that said representations of items having said highest proximity level are displayed along a first circle and said representations of items having said successively lower proximity levels are displayed along additional circles concentric with each other and the first circle, such that representations of items having a given proximity level are displayed only along a concentric circle corresponding to that given level.