Visualizing object behavior

• US 9,459,766 B1
• Filed: 08/16/2012
• Issued: 10/04/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/03/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc. (Amazon.com, Inc.)
• Inventors: Haynes, Jeremy S., Friedman, Michael W., Otwell, Andrew H., Werbel, Frederick J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Tuyetlien T
• Application Number:
  US13/587,734
• Time in Patent Office: 1,510 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04817 using icons graphical or visual programming using iconic symbols G06F8/34
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0482 Interaction with lists of selectable items, e.g. menus
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0484 for the control of specific functions or operations, e.g. selecting or manipulating an object, an image or a displayed text element, setting a parameter value or selecting a range
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/04842 Selection of displayed objects or displayed text elements G06F3/0482 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0201 Market modelling; Market analysis; Collecting market data
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0241 Advertisements
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0282 Rating or review of business operators or products
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/22 comprising specially adapted graphical user interfaces [GUI]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46

Abstract

A visualization service generates a graphical representation or visualization of each user'"'"'s behavior within a network resource, such as a website. In one example, the visualization service provides a dynamic visualization of each user accessing the network resource. Each user is graphically represented in the visualization with an indicium, such as a point or dot. The visualization (and thus, the position of each indicium representing a user) is dynamically updated as each user accesses data files from the network resource and thus, moves from state to state (or page to page) over time. The effect is similar to watching cars move along a complex highway system.

Claims

1. A system for graphically representing a transition of one or more objects among a plurality of states, the system comprising:

a data store that stores a path record for an object, the path record identifying the object and individual states among which the object has transitioned, wherein the object represents a client computing device and the individual states represent files accessed by the client computing device, and wherein the path record further identifies a time at which the client computing device accessed each of the files; and

a computing device, comprising a physical processor, that is in communication with the data store and is configured to;

generate a visualization graphically representing the transition of at least the object among the individual states based at least in part on the path record for the object, the visualization including an object indicium for the object and a state indicium for each of at least a subset of the individual states, wherein the transition of the object among the individual states is graphically represented in the visualization at least in part by the object indicium for the object traversing a path between a first state indicium and a second state indicium at a velocity that is based at least in part on an amount of time between;

(a) a first time at which the path record for the object indicates that the object was in a first state and (b) a second time at which the path record for the object indicates that the object was in a second state;

wherein the path record identifies that the client computing device accessed a first file at the first time and accessed a second file at the second time, and the path traversed by the object indicium is determined based at least in part on a parametric equation.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein an object indicium for the object traverses a path among at least two state indicia at a determined velocity that is different than a determined velocity at which a different object indicium for a second object traverses the path.

3. A computer-implemented method comprising:

as implemented by one or more computing devices configured with specific executable instructions,

identifying, from a path record for an object, a plurality of states among which the object has transitioned over time, wherein the object represents a client computing device and the plurality of states represent files accessed by the client computing device, and wherein the path record identifies a time at which the client computing device accessed each of the plurality of files;

modeling the transition of the object among the plurality of states; and

generating a graphical representation of the modeled transition of the object among the plurality of states, the graphical representation including an object indicium for the object and a state indicium for each individual state of at least a subset of the plurality of states, wherein the transition of the object among the plurality of states is represented in the graphical representation at least in part by the object indicium for the object traversing a path between a first state indicium and a second state indicium at a velocity that is determined based at least in part on (a) a first time at which the object was in a first state of the plurality of states and (b) a second time at which the object was in a second state of the plurality of states;

wherein the path record identifies that the client computing device accessed a first file at the first time and accessed a second file at the second time, and the path traversed by the object indicium is determined based at least in part on a parametric equation.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, further comprising:

receiving object data associated with the object; and

identifying one or more states among which the object is transitioning over time based at least in part on the object data.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the graphical representation is generated as the object data is received.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 4, wherein the object data is historical object data.

7. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein modeling the transitioning of the object among the plurality of states comprises reconstructing a path followed by the object among two or more states.

8. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein an individual state is associated with a condition of the object.

9. A non-transitory, computer-readable medium storing computer executable instructions that, when executed by one or more computing devices, configure the one or more computing devices to perform operations comprising:

identifying, from a path record for an object, a plurality of states among which the object has transitioned over time, wherein the object represents a client computing device and the plurality of states represent files accessed by the client computing device, and wherein the path record identifies a time at which the client computing device accessed each of the plurality of files; and

generating a visualization graphically representing the transition of the object among the plurality of states, the visualization including an object indicium representing the object and a state indicium representing each individual state of at least a subset of the plurality of states, wherein the transition of the object among the plurality of states is graphically represented in the visualization at least in part by the object indicium traversing a path between a first state indicium and a second state indicium at a velocity that is determined based at least in part on (a) a first time at which the object was in a first state of the plurality of states and (b) a second time at which the object was in a second state of the plurality of states;

wherein the path record identifies that the client computing device accessed a first file at the first time and accessed a second file at the second time, and the path traversed by the object indicium is determined based at least in part on a parametric equation.

10. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein an individual state is associated with a network resource being accessed by the object.

11. The non-transitory, computer-readable medium of claim 9, wherein the operations further comprise enabling selection of a point in time at which to graphically represent the transition of the object among the plurality of states.