Visualization and navigation of knowledge domains

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10055541-B2
Application number	US-201414528081-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 30, 2014
Priority date	Oct 12, 2012
Publication date	Aug 21, 2018
Grant date	Aug 21, 2018

Abstract

A system stores visual content, and displays the visual content on a display unit in an undistorted, overview projection. The system receives input from a user to focus on a topic in the undistorted, overview projection, and transforms the undistorted, overview projection into a focused display showing the topic selected by the user and content related to the topic selected by the user in a continuous sequence of increasingly distorted projections. In the focused display, the content that is not related to the topic selected by the user does not move on the focused display, and the content that is related to the topic selected by the user moves towards the topic selected by the user on the focused display.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A non-transitory computer readable storage device comprising instructions that when executed by a processor execute a process comprising:
storing visual content in a computer storage device;
displaying the visual content on a display unit in an undistorted, overview projection;
receiving input from a user to focus on a topic in the undistorted, overview projection;
transforming the undistorted, overview projection into a focused display showing the topic selected by the user and content related to the topic selected by the user in a continuous sequence of increasingly distorted projections;
determining a relation among displayed topics;
fading out topics that are not related to the topic selected by the user during the transforming from the undistorted, overview projection to the focused display; and
moving content that is related to the topic selected by the user towards the selected topic on the focused display such that at a commencement of the transforming, movement of the content that is related to the topic selected by the user obeys a cambering hyperboloid projection, and in a course of the transforming, paths of the content that is related to the topic selected by the user are increasingly decoupled from the projected plane;
wherein content that is unrelated to the topic selected by the user becomes invisible at the end of the transformation irrespective of a location of the unrelated content on the undistorted, overview projection;
wherein content that is related to the topic selected by the user moves towards the topic selected by the user on the focused display; and
wherein the decoupling from the projected plane comprises a changing of a size of content that is related to the topic selected by the user and a distance of content that is related to the topic selected by the user from the selected topic as follows:
calculating a projected distance as follows:

r
⁡

(
d
)

=

r
∞

⁡

(

1
-

1

fd
+
1

)

wherein, the convergence radius r ∞ is calculated from r h , h and f as follows:

r
∞

=

r
h

1
-

1

fh
+
1

wherein a scale factor at a point with a logical distance d from the center of the focused display is calculated as a ratio r(d)d as follows:

r
⁡

(
d
)

d

=

r
h

h

⁢

(

fh
+
1

fd
+
1

)

wherein
f comprises a factor indicating a degree of a fisheye distortion;
d comprises the logical distance of content to the center of the focused display;
r comprises a projected distance of content to the center of the focused display;
h comprises a logical horizon comprising a logical distance between the center of the focused display and a center of content at a border of the focused display; and
r h comprises a projected horizon comprising a number of pixels from a center of the focused display to the border of the focused display.

2. The computer readable medium of claim 1 , comprising calculating an adjusted logical distance of the projected distance as follows:

d
′

=

d
target

-
d

f
1

-

f
0

⁢

(

f
-

f
0

)

+
d

wherein
d′comprises the adjusted logical distance;
d target comprises the adjusted logical distance at a completion of the transforming;
f 1 comprises a fisheye factor at the completion of the transforming;
f 0 comprises the fisheye factor at a start of the transforming; and
f comprises the fisheye factor at a current transforming step.

Assignees

• Werner Horst
• Sap Se

Inventors

• Werner Horst

Classifications

• G06T19/20

  Editing of three-dimensional [3D] images, e.g. changing shapes or colours, aligning objects or positioning parts · CPC title

• G16B40/00

  ICT specially adapted for biostatistics; ICT specially adapted for bioinformatics-related machine learning or data mining, e.g. knowledge discovery or pattern finding · CPC title

• G16B45/00 Primary

  ICT specially adapted for bioinformatics-related data visualisation, e.g. displaying of maps or networks · CPC title

• G06F16/248

  Presentation of query results · CPC title

• G06F2203/04805

  Virtual magnifying lens, i.e. window or frame movable on top of displayed information to enlarge it for better reading or selection · CPC title