A Search Engine That’s Aware
of Your Needs
Computer Technology
Originating Technology/ NASA Contribution
Internet research can be compared to trying to
drink from a firehose. Such a wealth of information
is available that even the simplest inquiry can
sometimes generate tens of thousands of leads,
more information than most people can handle, and
more burdensome than most can endure.
Like everyone else, NASA scientists rely on the
Internet as a primary search tool. Unlike the average
user, though, NASA scientists perform some pretty
sophisticated, involved research. To help manage
the Internet and to allow researchers at NASA to
gain better, more efficient access to the wealth
of information, the Agency needed a search tool
that was more refined and intelligent than the
typical search engine.
Partnership
NASA funded Stottler
Henke, Inc., of San Mateo,
California, a cutting-edge software company, with
a Small Business Innovation Research
(SBIR) contract
to develop the Aware software for searching through
the vast stores of knowledge quickly and efficiently.
The partnership was through NASA’s Ames Research
Center.
Product Outcome
Stottler Henke’s Aware software helps researchers
deal with the mass of information that comes from
tapping into the Internet. With user-focused search
technologies, it weeds through throngs of documents
and produces personalized, focused results. By
providing researchers with tools that augment their
decision-making abilities, Aware allows them to
quickly access and digest the wide range of information
pertinent to their tasks.
|
Aware, originally
a NASA project designed to help its scientists
perform better searches of the Internet, is
making the “information superhighway” more
navigable for researchers everywhere. |
Currently, Internet users have at least four ways
of accessing information they need. First, people
can query any one of a number of search engines,
such as AltaVista. Second, users can search through
existing categories in hand-built indexes, such
as Yahoo! or Lycos. Third, users can explore the
Web by browsing (following hyperlinks that seem
interesting to them). Finally, users can provide
a profile of their interests to an “information
push” system and hope relevant new information
will be forwarded to them when it becomes available.
Despite this range of possibilities, information
access remains extremely tiresome and difficult,
and offers users only limited glimpses into the
breadth of relevant available information.
The Aware software allows the user to control and
define how the search is performed. It learns preferences
and cuts tedious, time-consuming steps out of the
research process. It also assists users in searching
online information sources by pursuing search paths
that the user did not necessarily recognize or
is unable to pursue due to time or skill limitations.
So, while it weeds out extraneous documents that
the user would eliminate on his own—a time-
consuming, frustrating process akin to navigating
rush hour on the “information superhighway”—it
also manages to spot sources that the user might
pass over, like an excellent roadside diner that
the “driver” might otherwise speed by.
The Aware software loads onto any Microsoft Windows
personal computer, and the program can be run from
the desktop icon or from the Start menu. It is
simple to get started, as the program is set up
like a typical search engine, with a text field
for the searcher to enter keywords. Similarly,
search results display as they would with a conventional
search engine.
The user, however, can rate the types of results
with a plus or minus button, a feature not found
in other search engines. The software stores this
information and uses it in future searches. The
user also has the option of choosing to ignore
a specific result or type of result. This cuts
down on unwanted results being duplicated.
After checking the results of a search and categorizing
them according to preference, the user can continue
searching—only this time with an added advantage:
the search engine remembers the preferences and
tailors the search. The next set of results is
targeted to the user’s topic and filtered to avoid
duplicates. The software will save these search
parameters, so that subsequent searches will benefit
from the previous queries.
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The software
loads onto any Microsoft Windows personal computer
and begins “learning” after its first search. |
Research can get more specific and focused over
the course of time, all the while streamlining
and controlling redundancies. The search and its
parameters can be saved and the user can come back
time and again. The user also has the option of
creating different searches, with different levels
of restrictions and filters, and with different
keywords. One user can create several different
types of targeted search tools.
Aware saves all searched keywords, catalogs the
results collections, and learns which type of documents
best suits the research goals; then it expands
and filters new searches based on past search preferences.
The software does all of this for the user with
a minimum of input.
If the user does want to become more involved,
though, he can access a terms list—created by the
software, based on previous searches—to adjust
the weight given to each term. With a sliding scale,
the user can drag a pointer to indicate the importance
one search term should be given over another. This
is not the only way to refine the search. Users
of Aware can change and modify search properties
by choosing which sources to either highlight or
ignore, by selecting the number of queries, and
by setting the number of results displayed. Users
can even select how many results Aware should analyze
on every search.
This software is not restricted, however, to excluding
search items. If the user finds something that
does not fit the current search but that looks
interesting, he can save search results that are
off topic in a different file to pursue later.
The software has yet another added feature: the
ability to let multiple users access a specific
search.
Aware, originally a NASA project designed to help
its scientists perform better searches of the Internet,
is making the “information superhighway” more navigable
for researchers everywhere.
Aware™ is a trademark of Stottler Henke, Inc.
Yahoo!® is a registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc.
Lycos® is a registered trademark of Carnegie Mellon
University.
Microsoft® and Windows® are registered trademarks
of
Microsoft Corporation.
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