JP5922839B2 - Method and system for generating interactive versions of layout diagrams, etc. - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and system for generating an active version of a layout plan. This method and system can be used in conjunction with a reservation system or related methods of making a reservation.

  In many travel-related environments, for example in cruise booking applications, a layout is provided, although there are plans in many other situations as well. In this example, a reference is made to the cruise booking process, although this is not intended to be a limitation on the scope of the present invention.

  In the Internet era, passengers typically search for cruises by looking at a specific travel provider or cruise ship website. Passengers are able to view onboard plans during selection and access multimedia websites where onboard plans and cabin photos (and sometimes related cabin plans) can be viewed Window can be opened.

  The end user is not able to view available rooms on the image at the same time. In addition, the end user cannot select a specific room and there is no interaction associated with the options available for browsing and user interface.

  The most common way for websites to sell cruise solutions is as described above. The end user has access to images showing various decks on the ship. This information is not accessible to the booking flow, although it can be performed in a parallel section of the website associated with the ship. Alternatively, the reservation information can be accessed by the end user in a separate window or tab. As in the case of viewing a ship plan, the end user can also access photos and videos showing the ship.

  On the website associated with “Cruise Transactions”, the end user has access to room photos; room videos; and room tables. The end user has no access to any information regarding the ship plan or reservation.

  The “croisierenet” and “abcroisiere” websites use similar solutions. End users generally cannot see the location of cabins that are of interest to ships.

  In the case of a “cruise-direct” website, the end user has access to the same information identified above in other prior art examples. However, the end user can display the reservation information in a separate tab. As with all other prior art examples, the ship layout is a non-interactive image.

  The website described above uses roughly the same solution. None of these solutions provide any interaction and are not linked to the reservation process. As a result, the user can make a selection based on the viewed room layout, but it is assumed that those rooms are not finally available because they have already been reserved. This can result in disappointment and end users deciding not to even book anything, which can lead to lost revenue for the cruise company.

  In the solution designed by “TravTech” for “cruise.com”, the end user can view the shipboard plan and then reveal details such as photos or cabin categories You can place your mouse over the room. The inboard layout is still image based and is not easily maintainable if changes are made.

  The website “cdcroisieresdefense.com” discloses an image of a ship rather than a ship layout. The end user can place the mouse on a specific area of the ship image to display specific information.

  U.S. Patent No. 6,057,028 (MacDonald et al.) Discloses a method and system for managing reservations such as cabins on cruise ships on the Internet with interactive layout diagrams. This system provides image information and text information about the room. When the end user moves the pointer over a room on an interactive image, there is a portion of the image that can be “clicked” in the context of the application. The availability of rooms is updated regularly. The end user can reserve a room by clicking on the room in the interactive image. This system uses SmartDecks ™ technology to update the representation of available and unavailable rooms on interactive images. This application has a limited degree of interaction and is lacking in providing much of the information the customer needs when considering which room to book. In addition, this application relies on the administrator's manual intervention to detect the cabin location. This application can only handle cabins using deck bitmaps. All other symbols and shapes cannot be processed.

  As a result, this reservation system only has information about room availability, but there is no information that may be related to other aspects such as disabled access, connected rooms, distance to elevators, etc. I don't have it. From the end user's perspective, experience with still image display rather than interactive display is poor. In addition, no search function is provided except for availability search. Furthermore, from a processing point of view, the manual input requirement is a limitation.

  In general, the prior art relates to displaying information about the area or the entire ship. There are certain prior art references that suggest that detailed information can be accessed using a mouse or other pointer to view further details of a particular location. The ability for end users to interact with prior art systems to check availability and then subsequently reserve a location is not possible. The prior art merely provides one or more layers of information to allow the end user to see some details of a particular cabin or other part of the ship.

US Patent Application No. 2002/0099576

  The present invention provides methods and systems disclosed within the scope of the appended claims.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a method is provided for generating an interactive layout of locations from an optical image of the layout of the same location, the location comprising a plurality of different types of features such as cabins and aisles,
This way:
Applying a composite geometry and character recognition (COGCR) process to an optical image that determines a plurality of functional data representative of a plurality of features of different types;
-Converting a plurality of functional data into a plurality of object models;
-Combining the object model to construct an interactive layout for display to the end user.

  Optionally, the method includes displaying the interactive plan and responding to end-user interaction with the object model in the plan to perform a predetermined function.

  Optionally, the method includes generating different types of functionality data for different types of features by applying different COGCR processes to the different types of features.

  Optionally, the method includes converting each type of functionality data to a predetermined type of object model.

Optionally, the functionality data comprises symbols on the optical image of the layout diagram, and the method comprises the following steps:
Applying a mask representative of a predetermined symbol on the surface of the optical image;
Identifying the location of one or more symbols on the optical image corresponding to the mask;
-Storing the location of the identified symbol or symbols in the database.

  Optionally, the method includes completing a step for each symbol of interest that is expected to be found on the optical image.

  Optionally, the method includes retrieving the identified symbol locations from a database and creating an associated object model to apply to the interactive layout.

Optionally, functionality data is associated with entities such as cabins and aisles, and the method further includes:
-Identifying the entity and defining the entity by one or more topographic rules;
-Finding the location of one or more entities that match one or more topographic rules; and-storing the location of each entity that matches the one or more topographic rules.

  Optionally, the method includes forming an object model corresponding to the entity with the topographic rules to be matched.

  Optionally, the object model includes details of the shape of the entity, and the method further includes determining the shape of the entity by tokenizing the image into a predetermined shape element or color element.

Optionally, the tokenization step is:
Moving from pixel to pixel to search for homogeneous pixels that appear to be related to features in the image;
Analyzing each pixel to determine whether each or any of its surrounding pixels combines with the pixel to form a possible predetermined shape element or color element;
-Building a database of shape and / or color elements and locations for future use in the interactive layout.

  Optionally, the method includes categorizing and identifying a particular object as a room or the like used in the interactive layout plan.

Optionally, the optical image includes an alphanumeric representation and the method further includes:
Applying an optical character recognition process to the image to identify alphanumeric characters;
Comparing a list of words and / or numbers on the image with alphanumeric characters to determine every match; and-forming an object structure for every match used in the interactive layout.

  Optionally, any line and corner identified during processing of the image to form a set of vectors indicating the direction and size of movement from one pixel to the next within the identified line or corner. Vectorizing.

  Optionally, the method includes applying rules to any point that controls processing of the optical image to form an interactive layout.

  Optionally, the method includes adding an object structure from any process to draw the layout of the interactive plan and form an optical image representation in the form of a display of the interactive plan.

  Optionally, the method includes detecting an end-user interaction with the display of the interactive layout to perform an action based on the interaction.

  Optionally, this method links the interactive layout to the reservation flow to allow end users to interact within the interactive layout to select a room-like entity for the reservation. And, if the entity is available, includes completing the reservation.

  Optionally, the method includes obtaining a direction indication to the requested location using the interactive layout.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, a system is provided for generating an interactive layout of locations from an optical image of the layout of the same location, the location comprising a plurality of different types such as cabins and aisles. This system includes features:
A composite geometry and character recognition (COGCR) process applied to the optical image to determine a plurality of functional data representative of a plurality of features of different types;
A processor for converting a plurality of functional data into a plurality of object models;
-A display for combining object models to construct an interactive layout for display to the end user.

  Optionally, the interactive plan responds to end-user interaction with the object model in the plan to perform a predetermined function.

  Optionally, different COGCR processes are applied to different types of features to generate different types of functionality data for different types of features.

  Optionally, each type of functionality data is converted to a predetermined type of object model.

  Optionally, the functional data is moved over the surface of the optical image to find the location of one or more symbols on the optical image corresponding to the mask where the symbol is then stored in the database along with the associated location. A symbol on the optical image of the layout diagram recognized by a mask representing a predetermined symbol is provided.

  Optionally, each symbol of interest is located in the optical image.

  Optionally, the identified symbol locations yield an associated object model that is applied to the interactive layout.

  Optionally, the functionality data is associated with entities such as cabins and aisles, and the entity is identified and defined by one or more topographic rules and one that matches one or more topographic rules These entities are stored along with the location of each entity that matches one or more topographic rules.

  Optionally, an object model corresponding to the entity is formed.

  Optionally, the object model includes details of the shape of the entity determined by tokenizing the image into predetermined shape elements or color elements.

  Optionally, a particular object is categorized and identified as a guest room or the like used in the interactive layout map.

  Optionally, the optical image includes an alphanumeric representation and the system further includes an optical character recognition process for identifying the alphanumeric character and forming an object model thereof for use in the interactive layout.

  Optionally, any lines and corners identified during image processing form a set of vectors that indicate the direction and size of movement from one pixel to the next in the identified line or corner.

  Optionally, rules are applied at any point that controls the processing of the optical image to form an interactive layout.

  Optionally, an interactive layout layout is drawn, and an object model from any process is added to the layout to form an optical image representation in the form of an interactive layout display.

  Optionally, an end-user interaction with the display of the interactive layout diagram is detected and used to perform an action based on the interaction.

  Optionally, the interactive deployment diagram selects a room-like entity for booking and allows the end user to interact within the interactive deployment diagram to complete the booking if the entity is available Linked to the reservation flow.

  Optionally, the system comprises a mobile device that includes an application that allows an end user to use an interactive deployment plan in combination with an application to obtain direction instructions for the requested location.

  The present invention provides several advantages. The present invention allows the identification of any kind of functional object (room, elevator, etc.) that can be found on an interactive layout. Search results are shown graphically, making them more user-friendly. Opportunities to use new search criteria such as proximity to points of interest, cabin size, etc. The present invention further provides a ship navigator, cabin finder and / or 3D layout that can be downloaded onto a personal digital assistant (PDA) that obtains direction indications for a requested location to enable navigation around the ship. I will provide a. The present invention provides automatic data collection from any type of layout and is not limited to ship and cruiser environments.

  Other advantages are apparent from the following description.

  The present invention provides a real advantage for any cruise application that uses a layout for reservation purposes. The present invention provides a graphic interface that is easy to operate for the end user, and provides a tool for automatically generating this graphic interface to the reservation system administrator. Furthermore, the present invention makes it possible to have a new way of moving the flow to search, identify and book rooms.

  The advantage of this solution is that the image is constructed so that all elements can be interactive, as opposed to past still images that required significant processing to provide any form of dynamic functionality. Is that it can be done.

  Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings by way of example, where:

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a data collection process according to one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 4 is a simplified diagram illustrating pixel locations according to one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating various steps for generating an interactive ship plan that further describes the data collection process in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention; and 2 is a block diagram of an image construction process and system according to one embodiment of the invention; FIG. 3 is an example of an interactive inboard plan according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 4 is an example of an interactive ship plan according to one embodiment of the present invention; and FIG. 6 shows another interactive plan view for a hotel village, according to one embodiment of the present invention.

  The present invention relates to a method and system for automatically generating an interactive ship plan and using it to enhance the end user experience in the booking process. This system is combined with a reservation system to generate an interactive ship layout. This method creates functionality data for building interactive ship plans with usable object models. The present invention further includes a process for acquiring data to construct an interactive ship plan and a process for displaying the acquired data.

  In this description, the word “location map” relates to the expression of a geographical site as well as the expression of a building, a ship, an aircraft and the like.

  The end user can choose to reserve a particular cabin by selecting an image of the particular cabin on the interactive ship plan. The end user can then complete the booking process through the booking system by referring to the room number of the selected room. The room number provides a link that associates the selected image of the room on the interactive ship plan and the corresponding room reference in the reservation system.

  The representation of the cabin on the interactive inboard plan provides additional descriptive features or criteria for the cabin according to the present invention. Additional descriptive criteria take into account the cabin environment associated with the deck, such as the cabin's external environment. Existing reservation systems are technically unable to afford this kind of criteria for the reservation process due to the amount of processing required. In the present invention, the end user has more available information about the guest room before selecting the guest room that best matches the required preferences. After finding all the information about the room in question, booking a room can be accomplished immediately and directly by the booking system. If the cabin is not available, the graphic interface prevents the user from choosing it.

  The present invention relates to cruise reservations and reservation flows, but can be applied to any application that may use a reservation process or a map of resources within the system. The purpose of the cruise reservation system is to sell all rooms for a particular cruise. Currently, travel guides or end users using cruise booking applications do not have any access to any kind of visualization information about ships that can be operated and are interactive.

  The interactive ship layout diagram of the present invention is actually part of the reservation flow in the guest room selection step. Information is stored as functionality data (eg, in XML format) and linked with information from the reservation process, allowing interaction between the application and the interactive ship plan interactively. Adding an interactive floor plan directly to the reservation flow significantly improves guest room selection.

  The present invention allows an administrator to model a cruise liner or any object that can be modeled by a layout diagram within the framework of the booking process. This framework can be extended to the modeling of any reservable resource that can include a layout diagram. Other possibilities in the process flow can be further advocated, such as the ability to initiate the reservation process by room selection.

  The present invention includes two main parts.

  The first part is an automatic method for calculating the functionality data used to build the interactive layout. In one embodiment of the invention, this is a composite geometry and optical character recognition (CGOCR) of an existing ship plan.

  The second part is an automatic method of displaying data derived from the first part as an enhanced interactive interface.

  These two parts can be applied to businesses for cruise and other travel applications, whereas CGOCR can be used for any type of reservation system content or any interactive deployment plan that might actually be useful It can be applied to provide the data as an interactive display supplying field of application.

  The first part of the present invention will now be described in further detail below.

  The present invention takes a static layout map image and automatically converts it to functional data representative of an existing static layout map, which can then be presented to the end user as an interactive interface. . The present invention then uses a data source to build an interactive ship plan image. The original image data is converted into a usable object model that is representative of all elements and properties of the optical ship plan. There are multiple categories of elements or characteristics, each of which is handled differently, as described below.

  Referring first to FIG. 1, a composite geometry and optical character recognition (CGOCR) 100 is shown. The following description then gives a short resume of the various elements of the CGOCR detailed below. The CGOCR, indicated generally at 100, includes a source 102 of an image, such as the ship's original optical inboard layout or multiple layout. The CGOCR further includes a processing block 104; which includes a tokenizer 106; a noise reduction filter 108; an adaptive floodfill module 110; and a morphological analyzer 112. A noise reduction filter is applied to the image to reduce the noise level in the optical image of the ship plan.

  The noise level in the image is derived from the static layout image scanning process. The scanning process can include scanning a print from a static ship plan. This scanning process adds at least two sources of noise from the input image. One source is the result of an optical chain such as a lens in the original imaging device, scanner glass window defects, scratches, dirt, light irregularities, and the like.

  The remaining source of noise is due to "lossy" compression of the format used, for example, a JPEG image may produce an approximation of the original bitmap obtained from a scan that already suffers optical noise as described above. it can.

  The CGOCR further includes a classifier 114 that performs shape matching within the shape matching circuit module 116 and further includes a primitive builder 118 and a vectorizer 120. The shape matching circuit receives symbols from the database 122 and morphological rules from the database 124. The output from the classifier generates a plurality of digital scenes 126. As detailed below, the digital scene is stored in a database of models 128 to be used by the application 130.

  A typical inboard layout includes the layout of each deck, including the location of various items. For example, the onboard plan may show cabins, elevators, storage locations, details and names of the items mentioned above, social places such as restaurants, bars or theaters and other suitable environments or items.

  In accordance with the present invention, the objective is to convert these scans of the deck into usable functional data. To achieve this, it is necessary to define the most basic or simple elements (object model) of the domain language appropriate for the ship. In this way, symbols and patterns can be applied to the deck image to generate functionality data that can be utilized to recreate the interactive image. In doing so, the object model is used to convert the image into functional data that is used to create a graphic interface. As a result, subsequent use of the pointer, such as a pointer device click, can be handled. The richness of the object model is used to correct the results of low level scanners that can be used when identifying the least identifiable basic or simple elements.

  As mentioned above, the present invention stores an image that can be applied to a cruise booking flow to determine a set of functionality data to be generated, displayed and manipulated. This is accomplished using a domain model browsing controller pattern (MVC) applied to the ship layout. The data is processed by the display engine to render the layout in a viewer that is interactively viewed. This is described in more detail below.

  The solution of the present invention requires significantly less overhead than the use of some images in the prior art, and the functionality data is easily maintainable, for example in XML format. This is especially the case when there is a change in the ship layout. The fact that a ship's inboard plan is stored as a set of functionality data means that it can be manipulated by a computer program, thereby making the functionality data more flexible to use. In addition, due to the nature of the functional data, detailed information associated with the onboard layout when the magnification changes is displayed, in other words, zooming in to display more details.

  The advantage of this solution is that, in contrast to past still images that required considerable processing to provide any form of dynamic functionality, a layout is constructed where all elements can be interactive. It can be done.

  The present invention utilizes Javascript (registered trademark) for logical parts and HTML5 for storing HTML5 and functionality data by canvas objects for display. However, it will be appreciated that other related standards or formats can be used.

  The order in which the functional data is identified can occur in parallel with multiple processes occurring simultaneously; or in series where the processes can be performed in any particular order.

  The first part of identifying functionality data is to determine basic elements, such as symbols, patterns, features or elements that appear on the ship layout. This is necessary to generate a usable data representation of some or all of the elements of the inboard plan and thereby generate an interactive plan.

  In the case of an onboard plan, a number of specific processes are used to generate a set of functional data that can be used to build an interactive onboard plan. The process has identified entities that allow static floor plan images to be modeled. At least the following elements are analyzed and taken into account in the construction of the functionality data.

  The image processing function identifies lines, points, curves, corners, etc. as basic elements required to draw an interactive ship layout.

While identifying functional data, specific morphological rules are envisioned and these can include the following:
・ The rooms are always closed;
The cabin is totally surrounded by the ship superstructure (ie there can be no “floating cabin” found outside the periphery of the vessel);
• Rooms include room labels that generally follow a regular order;
Low level icon basic elements, for example, elevators can always be found at the end of a passage, evacuation stairs can always be in similar positions, life preservers are always in the same place on each deck, etc. There is a tendency to follow the arrangement. The fact that a particular element follows basic placement rules can be used to recognize simple elements within a more complex part of the ship plan.

  The first set of features to be analyzed are symbols on the ship layout. The inboard layout includes a number of specific symbols that are generally standardized throughout the cruise industry, although different cruise lines may have standard variations as will be seen in the following description. Symbols can be located at a plurality of locations on the ship layout. Symbols are specific diagrams or glyphs, and a definition is required for each specific symbol so that the processor should be able to identify and detect them. The following two tables show a list of specific symbols for two different cruise lines to illustrate the nature and associated description of each symbol. It will be appreciated that many other symbols and associated descriptions can be used in addition to those exemplified below.

  Each of the basic symbols can be referred to as a glyph or an emoji. In order to identify and detect the symbols on the original inboard plan, the image of the inboard plan is processed as follows. A mask exists for each known symbol for a particular cruise liner. A mask is applied to the layout for each symbol, and a raster scan is performed on the layout surface to identify the location of each occurrence of the symbol in question. The coordinates of each occurrence of a particular symbol are identified and stored. This process is repeated for each of the symbols until a detailed representation of all relevant symbol locations is obtained and the coordinates are stored.

  Certain symbols can have associated rules that prevent them from being associated with certain areas of the ship plan. Rules are provided in the appropriate database. For example, if the sofa bed symbol is located within the aisle area, the system recognizes that this is not possible. As a result, the sofa bed symbol is associated with the closest recognized guest room as the rule for the sofa bed claims that it must be located in the guest room. The rules enhance the use of masks and raster scans in symbol identification, thus ensuring that unacceptable areas according to the rules and functional data associated with a given symbol are not mistakenly associated. The result of the scan includes the coordinates of each symbol stored in the appropriate database along with the associated description. The stored symbol results have become functional data that can be accessed when building an interactive ship plan. The symbols used can come from any suitable location or source. Many other types of symbols can be envisioned. Before the functional data is constructed, the symbols for a particular ship are generally identified.

  A symbol is a relatively simple entity to detect and identify. Shipboard plans contain much more complex entities, and different processes are required to identify these more complex entities.

  To identify more complex entities, a process that uses patterns and topographic rules is used. A pattern consists of a set of topographic rules. For example, the cabin is defined by three main topographic rules: the cabin is a closed space, the cabin is surrounded by a ship superstructure, and the cabin labels follow a regular order. If multiple entities are identified as having the same pattern, this allows for the identification of more similar or the same family of entities. An example of a family of similar entities is a cabin.

  There can be several entities on the inboard layout that match the basic pattern of the cabin. As such, a specific object structure corresponding to the cabin is created, as shown below, so that the cabin can be isolated from other similar structures:

  The object structure is representative of a cabin called 1534 and contains details of shape, size or other information in a format that can be easily accessed for introduction into an interactive ship plan. Similar object structures exist for all other cabins on each deck and are again available to be introduced into the interactive ship plan.

  Attributes relating to the shape and size of the cabin are determined within the tokenizer. The tokenizer looks for shapes, lines, corners and other significant shape related information called shape elements. Although there are several guest rooms of different shapes, the guest rooms are expected to be surrounded by a straight line. However, for the next part of the description, it is assumed that the cabin is enclosed in a straight line. The image of the ship plan is analyzed by the tokenizer. The tokenizer finds homogeneous pixels that move pixel by pixel and appear to be related to features in the ship plan. Each pixel is analyzed to determine whether each or any of its neighbors together form part of a line or other shape. Thus, for example, each pixel representing a portion of the cabin is examined to identify the shape from one pixel to the next pixel of the same or similar color. When analyzing colors, the test is not for identity but for similarity. Slight differences in color are allowed as long as they are within a predetermined threshold.

  This will now be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 shows a plurality of identified pixels. The first thing to identify is the pixel 200. By scanning all neighbors of pixel 200, two neighbors are identified. These are the pixel 202 to the right of the original pixel 200 and 204 below the original image pixel 200. All other pixels surrounding pixel 200 do not appear to form part of a straight line or shape-related structure, and no further analysis is given at this time. The nearest neighbors of pixels 202 and 204 are then analyzed against their nearest neighbors, and an image is constructed from shapes that can gradually represent the two walls of the cabin. A T branch at pixel 206 is formed between the line above pixel 208 and the horizontal line to pixel 210. Pixel 200 is a corner pixel.

  Continuing analysis of the pixel's closest neighbor builds a detailed structure of linear elements in the ship plan. A structure including four corners connected by lines is generally considered to represent a cabin. After a more defined shape, i.e. square or rectangle, is determined, a space is defined between the shape boundaries. The defined space can be “filled” by the adaptive floodfill module 110 in FIG. The entire ship layout is analyzed as described above to identify linear features, cabins and, if possible, the particular shape and size to fill and other types of space in the area.

  With reference to FIG. 3, the overall generation process is described in more detail. A source image 300 of the original inboard layout is obtained and filtered as described above. In addition, the cruise company provides a list 302 of rooms and a symbol type 304 (as described above) that they use. Details of the static layout image 300 when processed by the tokenizer are shown as 306 as described above. The tokenizer object recognizes the color and basic shape and attributes of the features shown in the source image.

  An optical character recognition process is applied to the source image in conjunction with the guest room list and symbol type to generate a data object 308 that includes symbols and recognizes the guest room number.

  A data object 302 (eg, a list of guest rooms) and an OCR object 308 (eg, a label) are processed by a classifier (114 in FIG. 1). The classifier attempts to match the “OCR object” coming from the tokenizer to the room's “302” list, thus removing any false positive result (ie, a false label that might have been created by an error). To do. This ensures that only valid cabin labels are used.

  The classifier utilizes a shape matching circuit (116 in FIG. 1) along with a database for symbols and topographic rules. The classifier processes the tokenizer image to identify features related to passages and other spaces that are not easily classified as cabins by the tokenizer. This can take into account certain topographic rules stored in the database 124 of FIG. The generated data object, shown as 310 in FIG. 3, shows the passages and other spaces that cannot be easily classified.

  Processing of the optical character recognition object 308 by the classifier generates a detailed representation of the symbol and a guest room number. The resulting classifier optical character recognition data representation is shown as 312 in FIG. Also, access to the guest room list and symbol type assists in the process of generating the data object 312. The results of the OCR recognition process can be cross-checked by rules (ie, room numbers should be generally ordered, they should follow a specific regular expression, and / or a database of actual numbers Should be used).

  At the end of the data collection phase, an intermediate functional representation of all ship plan images processed by the tokenizer, optical character recognition process and classifier is obtained.

  The result of the process of tokenizing and classifying the image performed by the tokenizer and classifier is associated with the location of each identified pixel. In a further step, as implemented by the vectorizer 314, the pixels and lines identified in the data representations 306 and 310 are changed to convert them from point to point to point and vector. The image is shown as 314. In other words, shape features are represented by coordinates. The vectorizer image shows a plurality of points, one of which is shown as 316, where it is not clear whether the line on which the point is present is continuous or not. This is based on anomalies in the process. However, since the line appears to be continuous, the points are ignored and the line is assumed to be continuous. The vectorizer shows the boundary pixels of the shape. The original curve can be used instead by adding more vectority segments in the shape descriptor, with the result being an approximate representation of 310.

  If the classifier fails, the vectorizer can still present valid boundary pixels and can be used to close open vector features. This step is called morphological closure.

  The vectorized representation 314 and the classified optical character recognition representation 312 are combined to generate the functionality data 318 to generate the final functionality data for the inboard plan. A more detailed representation of the functionality data 318 is described in conjunction with the figures with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6 later in the description. The digital scene 318 shows the cabin and their numbers from the optical character recognition representation and removes all non-cabinet related information except information that is of particular interest to potential passengers, such as the location of the elevator .

  The following example shows some of the information regarding the format and type of functionality data regarding information about the ship, in this case as an XML file structure.

  The legend is represented as follows:

  A legend is used by the guest room while reading information for services represented by symbols on the layout map. These are then identified in the services listed and can include: additional beds; restrooms; disabled access; and connecting rooms. The connecting room is represented by a double arrow, and the double arrow is an attribute of both rooms. Based on the number and / or location of the two cabins, they can appear to be connected. This is not always the case. However, when using the present invention, even if the two rooms do not have a sequential number or the two appear to be separated, the attributes of the two rooms clearly identify the connected rooms using a double arrow. There is no danger of.

  Categories are defined as follows:

  While drawing the room, the category information is read by the display engine. Visually, each cabin category has a specific color, but it also has other attributes, such as private verandas, special services, and the like.

  The deck is represented as follows:

  The layout is used as a background image for the onboard layout. The layout of the inboard plan can be considered a line, and therefore it can be stored as data within a set of functionality data, if desired.

  In an example with two types of guest rooms: rectangular and polygonal guest rooms are represented differently as follows:

  A rectangular cabin has five attributes: name, shape (rectangular), length and width (in pixels), and location in the upper left corner (in pixels, from the upper left corner of the inboard layout). Any special services provided by the guest room are listed as child attributes of the guest room.

  A polygonal cabin has fewer attributes: its shape (polygon), the coordinates of the counterclockwise point (in pixels, from the upper left corner of the layout), and its category.

  The above is an example and it is clear that there are many other functional expressions in different situations and environments. In different applications, there are still different types of features considered and consequently still further functional representations. Different functionality data will depend on the particular application in which the invention is used.

  The above functional data of the present invention is represented by XML as described above. The XML is read by a JavaScript program that converts the logical object model into a visual object such as a guest room or other image for display to the end user.

  Functionality data can be represented by canvas elements as follows:

The canvas element is an HTML5 element that allows the programmer to create individually differentiated images. Canvas elements can be used to view and modify images by JavaScript as described below, see, for example, the w3c website: http: // dev. w3. org / html5 / canvas-api / canvas-2d-api. html or Mozilla developer network tutorial: https: // developer. mozilla. org / en / canvastrial . The HTML5 canvas is one possible implementation. Other vector viewers (eg flash etc.) can be used instead.

  The system also includes a display engine that is a JavaScript file that uploads the XML and parses it into a date object model (DOM) object. The display engine 400 then loads data from the cruise line 402 (shown in FIG. 4) to identify which cabins are available. The display engine then draws the deck layout on which all the cabins on a particular deck are drawn, and all available cabins are highlighted therein. The services represented by those symbols can then be drawn and images of a given category of rooms and their layout can be displayed in the frame.

  The display engine 400 in FIG. 4 is described in more detail below. The display engine includes a symbol factory 404 that has access to the layout diagram 406 and display rules 408. The display engine further includes a scene composer 410. The display engine receives functionality data from functionality data module 412; this functionality data was derived from the CGOCR process. Symbol factories and scene composers are linked in terms of their functionality and an object model corresponding to the symbol is generated. The display engine further communicates with a cruise booking flow 414 that provides information regarding availability 416 and potentially additional promotional offers 418. The display engine combines the necessary elements as described above for presentation to the end user on the viewer 420.

  The result is a single interactive image representing the deck, where available rooms are highlighted in a particular way. The interactive image representing the deck can then be used by the end user to determine information about the deck, including the availability of the cabin. When the end user's mouse or pointer points to a canvas element in the interactive image, the algorithm compares the position of the mouse with the position of the cabin on the interactive image of the ship plan. If the mouse points to a room, the room is highlighted. Information about this room, such as the category, is displayed and the availability of the room is indicated in a predetermined manner (eg, indicating that the room can appear as a particular color and can be reserved) . The end user can then select a room by clicking with the mouse. This results in the guest room being reserved by the end user. Further actions such as taking passenger details, payment, etc. can then be performed.

  5 and 6 show a representative example of an interactive image of a portion of a ship plan generated by the present invention. In FIG. 5, the pointer points to an available room and further actions on the pointer (ie clicking the mouse near the room) result in detailed information being available or a reservation being made. To do. In FIG. 6, the mouse refers to a room that is not available, and in this instance it is indicated by hand 600. The end user then moves to try to select a different room that may be available. Because the end user can quickly see that the cabin is not available, the end user does not waste time identifying the characteristics of the initially selected cabin.

  Based on the systems and methods described above, an interactive ship plan can be generated in a matter of minutes and the entire ship can be processed in less than an hour.

  Traditionally, the reservation flow is implemented by first selecting a geographic area, date and one or several cruise liners. Ships can then be selected by price and cabin category. This can generate a list of a limited number of guest rooms to choose from. Using the present invention, once a ship is selected, the end user can navigate the ship layout and select an available cabin based on various criteria before entering detailed information. Can do. The various criteria used to select a room are: position on board; room category; room layout; room size; price; availability of services and facilities such as disabled access, folding beds, connecting rooms, etc. ; Proximity of restaurants, theaters, etc .; group reservation requirements, etc. In other words, the end user can go straight to the interactive inboard plan, select a cabin, and then proceed to further aspects of the reservation, such as end user identification, payment, etc. In addition, because the cabin is an object, the end user can request a search for a ship plan that should be limited to cabins with specific services, such as access for the disabled.

  As described above, interactive images of floor plans can be generated for other applications such as restaurants, hotels, trains, and even airplanes.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of another layout of a hotel village having a plurality of chalets located at different locations within a particular area. An original layout 700 of a hotel in a national park is shown alongside elements 702 and 704 associated with interactive images created by the process according to the present invention. In a manner similar to that described above, end users can use interactive images to select rooms or browse other parts of the hotel.

  When booking onboard vacations, interactive onboard plans provide enormous advantages for both cruise liners and passengers.

  Once an interactive ship plan is created, an application can be developed based on it. In addition, if the inboard plan changes, a new interactive onboard plan can be constructed easily and quickly.

  Interactive inboard plans can be made available on a number of different resources, such as a computer, a screen on a smartphone or other personal electronic interface. Within the field of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets, applications can be included that allow end-users to interact with interactive ship plans when mobile. In addition, end users can use interactive deployment diagrams and applications in a combined sense to obtain direction directions to locations required by the end user. Thus, during their voyage, the end user can find a particular place in the ship. For example, the end user can ask for directions from a particular location to a restaurant. Building an interactive layout from functional data rather than being a flat still image means that there is no end to the different types of applications that can be used. For example, an end user can identify a golf range and use an interactive layout to complete a golf session or lesson reservation.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that some or all of the functional entities, as well as the process itself, can be embodied in software or one or more software-enabled modules and / or devices, or any combination thereof. Will. The software can run on any suitable computer or other machine, and the module can form an integral part of the computer or machine. The operation of the present invention involves various processes for changing different parts of a still image into interactive objects that can then be combined to produce a complete interactive layout that is characteristically equivalent to the original layout. Provide multiple transformations. The ability for the end user to interact with the interactive deployment plan generates still further transformations in a variety of different ways.

The present invention can be extended to any kind of appropriate situation described above. The creation of interactive images over previously non-interactive images can still have wider application outside the travel field. The ability to convert a floor plan into a series of objects in accordance with the present invention is many different, such as hotels, lodges, stadiums, theaters, restaurants, and other situations where the geographic features of an element are important when the end user makes a choice. Can be used in applications. It will be appreciated that the present invention can be modified in many different ways and still remain within the intended scope of the present invention.

Claims (41)

  A method of generating an interactive layout map from an image including a plurality of different types of features, wherein the first type of features each includes a character representation that identifies the features in the image, the method comprising:
  Applying a composite geometry and optical recognition process to the features to generate functionality data by a processor for each of the features of the plurality of features, the functionality data comprising: Comprising a plurality of structures each including a predetermined combination of one or more shape elements and a predetermined function;
  For each feature of the plurality of features, by the processor,
    Generating a vector representation for each of the structures to define an object model;
    Applying an optical character recognition process to identify alphanumeric characters in the feature;
    Comparing the alphanumeric characters with a list of words and / or numbers each corresponding to one of the character representations identifying the first type of features in the image;
    Classifying the object model as being a first type of object model by associating the object model with the corresponding character representation according to the alphanumeric character matching one of the word and / or number; By
  Converting the functionality data into the object model;
  Linking, by the processor, each of the object models of the first type to a reservation flow based on the associated character representation to construct the interactive layout for display to an end user. When,
  By the processor, each of the object models of the first type is configured to perform the predetermined function associated with the linked reservation flow in response to interaction between an end user and the object model. Comprising the steps of:   The method of claim 1, further comprising displaying the interactive layout and responding to interaction between the end user and the object model in the interactive layout to perform the predetermined function. the method of.   The plurality of structures includes a first type structure and a second type structure, and the method comprises:
  Determining a first predetermined combination of one or more shape elements to determine the first type of structure and the second type of structure to generate different types of object models The method of claim 1, further comprising applying a second predetermined combination of one or more shape elements for.   Generating the vector representation for the first type of structure, generating the first type of vector representation and generating the vector representation for the second type of structure; Generating a vector representation of the type
  Converting each combination including the first type of vector representation to the first type of object model and converting each combination including the second type of vector representation to a second type of object model. The method of claim 3, further comprising:   The object model comprises symbols on the image, and the method comprises:
  Applying a mask representative of a predetermined symbol on the image;
  Determining the location of one or more symbols on the image corresponding to the mask;
  The method of claim 1, further comprising storing the determined location of the one or more symbols in a database.   The image includes a plurality of types of symbols, and applying the mask, determining the location, and storing the determined location are performed for each type of symbol; The method of claim 5.   Retrieving the determined location from the database;
  Creating an associated object model for application to the interactive layout diagram.   The object model is associated with an object in the image and the method comprises:
  Defining the object according to one or more topographic rules;
  Placing the object that matches the one or more topographic rules;
  The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a location of each placed object.   The method of claim 8, wherein each object corresponds to one of the structures.   Each object model includes details of the shape of the object, and the method includes:
  9. The method of claim 8, further comprising determining the shape of the object by tokenizing the image into predetermined shape elements and / or color elements.   The image comprises a plurality of pixels and tokenizing the image;
  Moving a search for similar pixels that appear to be related to one of the features in the image from one pixel to another;
  Analyzing each pixel to determine which neighboring pixels in combination with the pixel being analyzed form a pixel combination comprising a portion of a predetermined shape element and / or color element;
  11. A method according to claim 10, comprising building a database of shape elements and / or color elements and their locations for use in the interactive layout plan.   Each object is a room, a room with an extra bed available, a room with access for the disabled, a room with an additional folding bathtub, hallway, and stairwell, special rooms, special rooms of the suite type, 9. The method of claim 8, comprising a family special room and one of a special room with a sofa bed, a female toilet, and a male toilet.   The method of claim 1, further comprising removing character representations that do not match any of the words and / or numbers in the list.   The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying some or all of the object model to allow identification of pixel locations.   The shape element includes lines and corners and generating the vector representation of each of the structures;
  2. The method of claim 1, comprising vectorizing the lines and corners to form a set of vectors each indicating the direction and size of movement from one point in the image to the next point in the image. the method of.   The method of claim 1, further comprising applying rules for controlling processing of the image to form the interactive layout.   The method of claim 1, further comprising: drawing the layout of the interactive plan, and adding the object model to form a representation of the image as a display of the interactive plan.   Detecting an interaction between an end user and the display of the interactive layout diagram;
  18. The method of claim 17, further comprising performing an action based on the interaction.   Linking the object model of the first type in the interactive layout diagram to the reservation flow based on the associated character representation, wherein the end user selects an object for reservation and the The method of claim 1, wherein the reservation can be completed if a selected object is available.   Downloading a navigator application to a mobile device, the navigator application responding to the mobile device in response to receiving a request for a direction to a requested location using the interactive deployment diagram. The method of claim 1, wherein the method is configured to provide a direction to a designated location.   The method of claim 1, wherein different composite geometry and optical recognition processes are applied to each feature of the plurality of features based on the feature type to generate different types of functionality data.   A system for generating an interactive layout map from an image including a plurality of different types of features, wherein the first type of features each includes a character representation that identifies the features in the image, the system comprising:
  A processor;
  A memory coupled to the processor, the memory comprising instructions configured to cause the system to perform the following operations when executed by the processor, the operations comprising:
  Applying a composite geometry and optical recognition process to the features to generate functionality data for each of the features, wherein the functionality data is one or more. A plurality of structures each including a predetermined combination of shape elements and a predetermined function;
  For each feature of the plurality of features,
    Generating a vector representation for each of the structures to define an object model;
    Applying an optical character recognition process to identify alphanumeric characters in the feature;
    Comparing the alphanumeric characters with a list of words and / or numbers each corresponding to one of the character representations identifying the first type of features in the image;
    Classifying the object model as being a first type of object model by associating the object model with the corresponding character representation according to the alphanumeric character matching one of the word and / or number; By
  Converting the functionality data into the object model;
  Linking each of the first type of the object model to a reservation flow based on the associated character representation to construct the interactive layout for display to an end user; and
  Configuring each of the first type of the object model to perform the predetermined function associated with the linked reservation flow in response to an interaction between an end user and the object model. ,system.   The instructions to the system;
  And further configured to display the interactive layout and cause the predetermined function to be performed in response to an interaction between the end user and the object model in the interactive layout. Item 23. The system according to Item 22.   The plurality of structures includes a first type structure and a second type structure, and the instructions are provided to the system,
  A first predetermined combination of one or more shape elements for determining the first type of structure and a second of one or more shape elements for determining the second type of structure. 23. The system of claim 22, further configured to apply a predetermined combination of to generate different types of object models.   Generating the vector representation for the first type of structure generates a first type of vector representation and generating the vector representation for the second type of structure; And a vector representation of the type
  Converting each combination including the first type of vector representation to the first type of object model and converting each combination including the second type of vector representation to a second type of object model. 25. The system of claim 24, further configured to:   The system further comprises a database;
  The object model comprises symbols on the image, and the instructions are in the system,
  Applying a mask representing a predetermined symbol on the image;
  Determining the location of one or more symbols on the image corresponding to the mask; and
  23. The system of claim 22, further configured to cause the determined location of the one or more symbols to be stored in a database.   The image includes a plurality of types of symbols and the instructions are sent to the system,
  27. The system of claim 26, further configured to cause, for each type of symbol, applying the mask, determining the location, and storing the determined location.   The instructions to the system;
  Retrieving the determined location from the database; and
  27. The system of claim 26, further configured to cause an associated object model to be applied to the interactive layout diagram.   The object model is associated with an object in the image, and the instructions are sent to the system,
  Defining the object by one or more topographic rules
  Placing the object that matches the one or more topographic rules; and
  24. The system of claim 22, further configured to cause storing the location of each placed object.   30. The system of claim 29, wherein each object corresponds to one of the structures.   Each object model includes details of the shape of the object, and the instructions are sent to the system,
  30. The system of claim 29, further configured to cause the shape of the object to be determined by tokenizing the image into predetermined shape elements and / or color elements.   Each object is a room, a room with an extra bed available, a room with access for the disabled, a room with an additional folding bathtub, hallway, and stairwell, special rooms, special rooms of the suite type, 30. The system of claim 29, comprising a family special room and one of a special room with a sofa bed, a female toilet, and a male toilet.   The instructions to the system;
  23. The system of claim 22, further configured to cause the character representation having an alphanumeric character that does not match any of the words and / or numbers in the list to be removed.   The shape element includes lines and corners, and the system includes:
  By vectorizing the lines and corners to form a set of vectors each indicating the direction and size of movement from one point in the image to the next point in the image, each of the structures 23. The system of claim 22, generating the vector representation.   The instructions to the system;
  23. The system of claim 22, further configured to apply rules for controlling processing of the image to form the interactive layout.   The instructions to the system;
  23. The system of claim 22, further configured to cause the interactive model to draw a layout and add the object model to form the representation of the image as a display of the interactive map. .   The instructions to the system;
  Detecting an interaction between an end user and the display of the interactive layout diagram; and
  40. The system of claim 36, further configured to cause the interaction based action to be performed.   Linking the object model of the first type in the interactive layout diagram to the reservation flow based on the associated character representation, the end user selects an object for reservation and the 23. The system of claim 22, enabling the reservation to be completed if a selected object is available.   An application configured to cause a mobile device to provide a direction to the requested location using the interactive deployment map in response to receiving a request for the direction to the requested location. 24. The system of claim 22, further comprising a mobile device.   The instructions to the system;
  Further configured to apply different composite geometry and optical recognition processes to each of the plurality of features based on the type of feature to generate different types of functionality data; The system according to claim 22.   A computer program for generating an interactive layout map from an image including a plurality of different types of features, wherein the first type of features each include a character representation that identifies the features in the image, The program includes instructions configured to cause the processor to perform the following operations when stored on a persistent computer readable storage medium and executed by the processor, the operations comprising:
  Applying a composite geometry and optical recognition process to the features to generate functionality data for each of the features, wherein the functionality data is one or more. A plurality of structures each including a predetermined combination of shape elements and a predetermined function;
  For each feature of the plurality of features,
    Generating a vector representation for each of the structures to define an object model;
    Applying an optical character recognition process to identify alphanumeric characters in the feature;
    Comparing the alphanumeric characters with a list of words and / or numbers each corresponding to one of the character representations identifying the first type of features in the image;
    Classifying the object model as being a first type of object model by associating the object model with the corresponding character representation according to the alphanumeric character matching one of the word and / or number; By
  Converting the functionality data into the object model;
  Linking each of the first type of the object model to a reservation flow based on the associated character representation to construct the interactive layout for display to an end user; and
  Configuring each of the first type of the object model to perform the predetermined function associated with the linked reservation flow in response to an interaction between an end user and the object model. , Computer program.

Images