Yahoo! Inc.

International Business Machines Corporation

Other

Excalibur Ip, LLC

Slack Technologies, Inc.

Jollify Management Limited

Qi Lu

David Ku

Eckart Walther

Ali Diab

Kevin Lee

Chung-Man Tam

Matthias Eichstaedt

Zhichen Xu

Shang-Hua Teng

Jianchang Mao

Scott A Gatz

Phu Hoang

Reiner Kraft

Shyam Kapur

Thai Tran

Jeff Weiner

Norman Shi

Chuck Kung

Lynne Pogue

Yuan Kui Shen

Kenneth Norton

John Thrall

Nam Nguyen

Udi Manber

Daniel Alexander Ford

Ron Yair Pinter

Myron Dale Flickner

Daniel Eric Rose

Tobin Jon Lehman

Carlos Hitoshi Morimoto

Ashish Baldua

Kevin Ellis

Christina Wodtke

Jennifer Crakow

Joseph J Gebis

Edwin Joseph Selker

Jason Brant Douglas

Stefan Bengt Edlund

Pavel Berkhin

Paul Philip Maglio

Ramesh R Sarukkai

Ashvinkumar P Patel

Jin Zhu

David Bruce Koons

Thomas Joshua Shafron

Yu Guo

John P Lazarus

Zhi Bo Zuo

Joshua P Hecker

Lev Stesin

Melanie E Moses

Pavel Berkin

Dan Rose

Jiangchang Mao

Benjamin Garrett

Joshua M Dobies

Kristine Rudkin

Marat Wisebond

Computer systems and methods incorporate user annotations (metadata) regarding various pages or sites, including annotations by a querying user and by members of a trust network defined for the querying user into search and browsing of a corpus such as the World Wide Web. A trust network is defined for each user, and annotations by any member of a first user's trust network are made visible to the first user during search and/or browsing of the corpus. Users can also limit searches to content annotated by members of their trust networks or by members of a community selected by the user.

Search system and methods with integration of user annotations from a trust network

Teams of robots can be organized to collectively complete complex real-world tasks, for example collective foraging in which robots search for, pick up, and drop off targets in a collection zone. A dynamic multiple-place foraging algorithm (MPFAdynamic) is a scalable, flexible, and efficient algorithm for robot swarms to collect objects in unmapped environments. It achieves scalability through a decentralized architecture in which robots search without central control, and then return to mobile depots which provide collection and communication points. Mobile depots move closer to clusters of targets as robots discover them, which reduces robot transport time as well as collisions among robots. Flexibility is achieved by incorporating individual robot behaviors in which robots move and communicate in ways that mimic the foraging behaviors of ants. The MPFAdynamic algorithm demonstrates that dispersed agents that dynamically adapt to local information in their environment provide more flexible and scalable swarms.

System and methods for multiple-place swarm foraging with dynamic depots

Computer systems and methods allow users to annotate content items found in a corpus such as the World Wide Web Annotations, which can include any descriptive and/or evaluative metadata related to a document, are collected from a user and stored in association with that user. Users are able to annotate and view their annotations for any document they encounter while interacting with the corpus, including hits returned in a search of the corpus. Users are also able to search their annotations or to limit searches to documents they have annotated. Metadata from annotations can also be aggregated across users and aggregated metadata applied in generating search results.

Search systems and methods with integration of aggregate user annotations

A search query is received. Personal information for a user is then determined. A search is performed in a general subdomain of general content using the search query. For example, the general subdomain of general content may be a WWW search. Then, a vertical subdomain is determined based on the personal information. A search is then performed in the vertical subdomain of specialized content using the search query. The search performed in the general subdomain and the search performed in the vertical subdomain generate general search results and vertical search results. The results may be combined and outputted to a client.

Lateral search

Computer systems and methods allow users to annotate content items found in a corpus such as the World Wide Web. Annotations, which can include any descriptive and/or evaluative metadata related to a document, are collected from a user and stored in association with that user. Users are able to annotate and view their annotations for any document they encounter while interacting with the corpus, including hits returned in a search of the corpus. Users are also able to search their annotations or to limit searches to documents they have annotated. Metadata from annotations can also be aggregated across users and aggregated metadata applied in generating search results.

Search systems and methods with integration of user annotations

A method of modifying an Internet browser interface to provide shopping assistant functionality facilitating on-line shopping at a supported merchant Internet site. A wallet created in accordance with the present invention comprises a database having various user data stored therein under certain predetermined field names. A supported merchant data file identifies a plurality of supported merchants and enables the modified browser interface to determine when a shopper has navigated to a supported merchant web site. For each supported merchant, a rules and mapping file is created that may be used in connection with the wallet to map user-provided information in the wallet to corresponding fields in the merchant's check-out web page. When a user navigates to a supported merchant web site and desires to purchase merchandise and/or services from that merchant, the wallet automatically fills out the merchant's check-out web page(s), thereby simplifying on-line shopping and particularly, the check-out process.

Method and system of facilitating on-line shopping using a downloadable toolbar

A method and apparatus for generating search results including searching by subdomain and providing sponsored results by subdomain is provided. A search system according to embodiments of the present invention analyzes search queries to determine if they are to be routed to subdomains and presents results include sponsored hits sponsored on a subdomain by subdomain basis.

Search system using search subdomain and hints to subdomains in search query statements and sponsored results on a subdomain-by-subdomain basis

Inverse search systems and methods operate on identifiers of content items in a corpus such as the World Wide Web In an inverse search, the user submits a query that includes an identifier of a target content item in the corpus and receives information (metadata) about the target content item being returned to the user. Many types of metadata can be returned, including ratings or other metadata related to the target content item obtained from users, popularity data specific to the target content item, information about previously submitted forward search queries that led to the target content item being identified as a hit, and metadata extracted from the target content item.

Inverse search systems and methods

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Saratoga, CA, United States of America

Qi Lu