GB2458646A

GB2458646A - Object and group marker display

Info

Publication number: GB2458646A
Application number: GB0805364A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ian Matthew Haynes
Original assignee: Triad Group PLC
Current assignee: Triad Group PLC
Priority date: 2008-03-26
Filing date: 2008-03-26
Publication date: 2009-09-30
Also published as: GB0805364D0

Abstract

Displaying objects comprises receiving two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, ascertaining which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs and applying a threshold to each group of the set of groups. Either each object (20) within a group is displayed if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or a group marker (26) is displayed if the number of objects within the respective group is equal to or above the threshold. Each respective group marker may include a number (26) equal to the number of objects within the respective group, and a user input may determine the size of the 2D groups.

Description

DESCRIPTION

OBJECT AND GROUP MARKER DISPLAY

This invention relates to a method of, and system for, displaying objects.

It is known to display objects graphically on a map. For example, known user interfaces in relation to applications such as "yellow pages" will allow a user to specify a location (via a postcode for example) and a business type (such as restaurants) and display the results of a search on a map, with an object showing each hit from the search in roughly the correct position on the map corresponding to the two-dimensional location of the object. If a large number of hits are returned, either in total or in relation to a specific locality, then the display of the objects can be confusing and will either provide data to the user that is not sensible, or will force the user to take further actions in order to render the search result usable. This known method of displaying objects is inflexible in relation to providing the user with usable information about the displayed objects.

It is therefore an object of the invention to improve upon the known art.

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of displaying objects comprising receiving two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, ascertaining which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs, applying a threshold to each group of the set of groups, and either displaying each object within a group if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or displaying a group marker if the number of objects within the respective group is equal to or above the threshold.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a system for displaying objects comprising a processor arranged to receive two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, to ascertain which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs, to apply a threshold to each group of the set of groups, and a display device arranged either to display each object within a group if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or to display a group marker if the s number of objects within the respective group is equal to or above the threshold.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer program product on a computer readable medium for displaying objects, the product comprising instructions for receiving two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, ascertaining which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs, applying a threshold to each group of the set of groups, and either displaying each object within a group if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or displaying a group marker if the number of objects within the respective group is is equal to or above the threshold.

Owing to the invention, it is possible to provide a system and method that will, when providing a display of objects to a user, ensure that the result is meaningful and appropriately displayed. The processing of the objects prior to their display will ensure that where objects can be displayed individually they will be, but where large numbers of objects will be confusingly close together, then those objects will be rendered as a group marker.

Advantageously, each respective group marker includes a number equal to the number of objects within the respective group. By including in the group marker a numeral equivalent to the number of objects that have been conglomerated into the group marker, the user can see at a glance, how many objects are located in the area defined by the group marker.

Preferably, the process further comprises receiving a user input, the user input determining the size of the two-dimensional groups. The user can set the scale of the display, either before or after an initial display of the objects. This might be achieved by the user specifying a location and a distance from that location, which will be converted into a group size, based upon these factors and the screen resolution and/or size.

Ideally, the method further comprises setting the threshold according to the size of the two-dimensional groups. Depending upon the application that is being run, the threshold can be flexibly set. For example, a rectangular display could be divided up into, for instance 16 or 32 different groups (assumed to be the same size and shape). In this case, the threshold applied as to whether to display the objects individually, or as a group marker, will depend upon the size of the group. If there are 16 groups, then each group is larger than if there are 32 groups, and therefore more individual objects can be shown in a group before it is necessary to conglomerate the objects into a single group marker.

Advantageously, the process further comprises receiving a user input selecting a group marker and displaying the objects within the selected group.

The handling of the objects and the group markers can be such that the user can select a group marker with a cursor under control of a user interface device such as a mouse, and the display device will display the individual objects that are represented by the conglomerated group marker.

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a system for displaying objects, Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a device, Figure 3 is a schematic diagram showing the number of objects in two-dimensional groups and the application of a threshold to each group, and Figure 4 is a further schematic diagram of the display device.

Figure 1 illustrates a system which can be used to display objects. The system of this Figure is a conventional personal computer (PC) used in a desktop environment, but could equally be a networked workstation for example. The system comprises a display device 10, which can be any suitable display for viewing objects, such as a CRT display or flat panel display capable of displaying sufficient detail. The system also comprises a processing component 12, which in turn comprises a large number of processing, storage and input/output elements. Two such elements are illustrated, being a processor 14 and a database 16. The processor 14 is arranged to carry out process tasks and to control the image shown by the display device 10. The database 16 is a local storage device that stores information for use by the processor 14. In the Figure, the database 16 is shown connected to the s processor 14 by a local bus. The system also includes conventional user interface devices 18, being a keyboard 18a and a mouse 18b.

The system shown in Figure 1 can be used by an operator to carry out tasks that have a display component. For example, a user could execute a search through a suitable interface, the results of which will be shown by the display device 10. Some searches or process tasks will result in objects (which may be the search results) being shown by the display device in relative position to each other. For example, if a "yellow pages" search is made, then the results can be displayed as objects on a map, with the location of the object corresponding to the location of the specific hit relative to the map.

is Other object displays are known, for example when data from scientific measurements are displayed on a graph. Effectively each object has two-dimensional information associated therewith which defines the location of the object on the display device 10.

The system of Figure 1 provides an improved method of displaying objects on a display device 10. The following embodiment is described as if the objects are the results of a search based upon location, and the objects are displayed on a map. Figure 2 gives an example of the improved display of objects 20 on the display device 10.

Figure 2 shows an example of a plurality of objects 20 shown on the display device 10. Each object 20 is drawn as a numbered circle, but any representation of the objects 20 is possible. The objects 20 need not be marked in any specific way, nor need they be the same size and shape. They could be two-dimensional, or three-dimensional. The display of objects 20 shown in Figure 2 is widely used in many different display environments. For example, the objects 20 could represent the results of a search via a "yellow pages" application, as mentioned in the discussion of the prior art, with each object 20 representing a hit in the search. The objects 20 may signify data results on an x and y axis, for example showing height against weight for a number of different patients. The objects 10 could also signify real objects such as aeroplanes in an air traffic control system, for example, in which case the objects 20 will be moving and not fixed. In the Figure 2, as illustrated, no s background is drawn, but in many applications further display elements such as a background will be present. For example, if the objects are shown in relative position in a geographic context, then a map may be provided as a

background.

Where a user search returns a large number of results requiring plotting on the map as the objects 20, it can result in significant performance deterioration and user confusion. In these cases, data is grouped by location (at different levels of detail) and individual markers can be replaced by a single group marker 26. The group marker 26 can also display the level of aggregation (for example, the region or area code) and the number of results beneath the group marker 26. In Figure 2, the group marker 26 has the number "5" associated with it, indicating that five individual objects 20 have been grouped into this one marker 26. The group markers 26 could be two-dimensional or three-dimensional.

In generating the search result shown in Figure 2, the processor 14 creates a list 22 which includes objects 20 and respective two-dimensional position data 24 for each of the objects 20. As can be seen on the display device 10, the objects "A" and "F" and three other objects have been conglomerated into the single group marker 26, which is labelled "5". The user who is viewing the display device 10 knows that in order to prevent a confusing multitude of objects 20 in the same or similar location, the marker 26 has been used to replace the individual objects 20.

Figure 3 shows how the decision making process can be accomplished in respect of whether to show objects individually, or as group markers. The processor 14 is arranged to receive the two-dimensional position data for the plurality of objects and to ascertain which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs. In Figure 3, sixteen groups 28 are shown, with a number associated with each group 28, being the number of objects 20 that lie 6 -within that group 28. The groups 28 are shown in Figure 4 as being squares, and all being the same size, but this need not necessarily be so. The principle is that the processor 14 divides the usable display area up into groups 28 and places each object logically within each group 28 according to the two-dimensional data 24 associated with that respective object 20. If the data 24 is, for example, a postcode (or zip code) then some level of approximation may take place. It is sufficient that the processor 14 can place each object into a two-dimensional group 28.

The processor 14 is then arranged to apply a threshold 30 to each 28 io group of the set of groups 28, and the display device 10 is arranged either to display each object 20 within a group 28 if the number of objects 20 within the respective group 28 is below the threshold 30, or to display a group marker 26 if the number of objects 20 within the respective group 28 is equal to or above the threshold 30. As can be seen in the lower part of the Figure, the number of is objects 20 within each group 28 is represented as a bar relative to the threshold 30. In this example, the threshold 30 is set to four, so any group 28 with four or more members (objects 20) will be represented by a group marker 26. Those with three or less objects 20 will have their individual objects 20 displayed on the display device 10 in their relevant position. The processor 14 can be arranged to set the threshold 30 according to the size of the two-dimensional groups 28.

The user can have input into how the display 10 is configured by the processor 14 when the results are presented to the user. For example the processor 14 can receive a defined user input (via the interface 18), the user input determining the size of the two-dimensional groups 28. For example, the user could select a location (such as Milton Keynes) and a distance (such as 5 miles) as a radius, and this will define the search criteria used to select the objects 20 for display, but will also effectively select the size of the groups 28 used in the process of conglomerating objects 20 into group markers 26.

The user, once they have a view of the type shown in Figure 2 can adjust the area shown by zooming in and out (either stepwise or smoothly), which will change the group size and therefore the conglomeration of objects 7 - 20. For example, the user may zoom in and the group markers 26 will split into individual objects 20 and/or smaller group markers 26. A user may see a group marker 26 which has the numeral "40" attached to it. The user could centre on this marker 26 and zoom in, for example by a factor of four. This marker 26 S may then split into smaller individual markers 26, perhaps showing "12", "10", "14", and also four individual objects 20, according to the algorithm operated by the processor 14.

Figure 4 illustrates a further user interaction. In this case, the processor 14 has further received a user input selecting a group marker 26 and as a io result, displayed the objects 20 (as a cluster 32) within the selected group 28.

Other methods of responding to the selection of a group marker 26 are possible. For example, a totally new view may be presented, displaying the individual objects 20 that were effectively "under" the respective group marker 26. Another response is that selecting the marker 26 removes the marker 16 is and replaces it with the next level of detail (i.e. a lower level of data aggregation or markers for the individual data items).

There are different possibilities for the searching/grouping algorithm.

For example, the search area can be based an area bounded by a rectangle.

The search area is calculated from either firstly a user specified search location and the search radius (for instance, Milton Keynes, 5 miles or MK7, 3 miles), the search radius is converted in to a rectangle encompassing a circle of the prescribed radius, or secondly the centre of the current map view and zoom level (i.e. viewing the map at Street level will search and display data at that zoom level). In one embodiment, the grouping is done by postcode in the UK, or by latitude and longitude outside the UK. In both cases, there are three levels of aggregation/grouping: the top tier (i.e. the highest level of grouping); the second tier (the lowest level of grouping) and the individual marker or pin level. Within the UK, the top tier of grouping is the postal area. This is defined as the postal code "outcode", without its numeric component. For instance, for the postcode MK7 8LE, the top tier of grouping is MK. The second tier of grouping is the "outcode". If the member's postcode is MK7 8LE, the second tier of grouping is MK7. Outside the UK the top tier of grouping is the latitude and longitude rounded to whole numbers, and the second tier of grouping is the latitude and longitude rounded to one decimal place.

Each individual result (corresponding to an object) has its "group" calculated. The results are then aggregated by group and the count of results s in each group calculated. The results are returned in a hierarchical structure, the top tier contains second tier groups, which in turn may contain individual results depending upon the number of results in the second tier group. If the second tier group contains less than a prescribed minimum group threshold, the individual results are returned in the search. Example (for illustration only): <Points> <Tierl Name="MK" Cou nt="95"> <Tier2 Name="MKl 0" Count="5" I> <Tier2 Name="MKl 1" Count="l "> <marker Latitude="52.052" Longitude="-0.8448" I> </marker> </Tier2> <Tier2 Name="MKl 2" Count="2"> <marker Latitude="52.050" Longitude="-0.8040" Memberl D="4 13056"!> <!marker> <marker Latitude="52. 057" Longitude="-O.8082" Memberl D="485844" I> </marker> The example above is for illustration only and not a grammatically valid statement. Results are displayed according to the following algorithm and threshold values. If there are less than 100 individual objects, the objects are displayed individually, if there are more than 29 clusters at the second tier level (eg MK2, MK3.. . .MK45), results are displayed at the top tier level, else, the results are displayed at the second tier level, except where second tier clusters represent less than the prescribed minimum individual objects, when the individual pins will be displayed (i.e. auto expanded). For the purposes of readability, threshold values have been shown as actual values. In reality, these are parameterised. 9 -

Claims

CLAIMS1. A method of displaying objects comprising * receiving two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, * ascertaining which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs, * applying a threshold to each group of the set of groups, and * either displaying each object within a group if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or displaying a group marker if the number of objects within the respective group is equal to or above the threshold.
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein each respective group marker includes a number equal to the number of objects within the respective group.
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, and further comprising receiving a user input, the user input determining the size of the two-dimensional groups.
4. A method according to claim 1, 2 or 3, and further comprising setting the threshold according to the size of the two-dimensional groups.
5. A method according to any preceding claim, and further comprising receiving a user input selecting a group marker and displaying the objects within the selected group.
6. A system for displaying objects comprising * a processor arranged to receive two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, to ascertain which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs, to apply a threshold to each group of the set of groups, and a display device arranged either to display each object within a group if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or to display a group marker if the number of objects within the respective group is equal to or above the threshold.
7. A system according to claim 6, wherein each respective group marker includes a number equal to the number of objects within the respective group.
8. A system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the processor is further arranged to set the threshold according to the size of the two-dimensional groups.
9. A system according to claim 6, 7 or 8, and further comprising a user input device arranged to receive a user input, the user input determining the size of the two-dimensional groups.
10. A system according to claim 9, wherein the user input device is further arranged to receive a user input selecting a group marker and the display device is arranged to display the objects within the selected group.
11. A computer program product on a computer readable medium for displaying objects, the product comprising instructions for * receiving two-dimensional position data for a plurality of objects, * ascertaining which group of a set of two-dimensional groups each object belongs, * applying a threshold to each group of the set of groups, and * either displaying each object within a group if the number of objects within the respective group is below the threshold, or displaying a group marker if the number of objects within the respective group is equal to or above the threshold.
12. A computer program product according to claim 11, wherein each respective group marker includes a number equal to the number of objects within the respective group.
13. A computer program product according to claim 11 or 12, and further comprising instructions for receiving a user input, the user input determining the size of the two-dimensional groups.
14. A computer program product according to claim 11, 12 or 13, and further comprising instructions for setting the threshold according to the size of the two-dimensional groups.
15. A computer program product according to any one of claims 11 Is to 14, and further comprising instructions for receiving a user input selecting a group marker and for displaying the objects within the selected group.