Using a human computation game to improve search engine performance
AssigneeMicrosoft Corporation
InventorsRaman Chandrasekar, Christopher Brian Quirk, Sarthak Deepak Shah, Matthew Richardson, Christopher John Champness Burges, Abhishek Gupta, Hao Ma
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Human computation games are provided wherein a player is shown a page, such as a web page. The player is then asked to provide one or more terms that are intended to cause a search engine to return the page in response to performing a query using the terms. The terms provided by the player during game play are then collected, stored, and utilized to improve the performance of the search engine.
Claims20
A computer-implemented method for using a human computation game to improve search engine performance, the computer-implemented method comprising performing computer-implemented operations for:
- displaying a page to two or more players via a multi-player game;
- upon displaying the page,
- receiving first terms from a first player and receiving second terms from a second player,
- causing a search engine to return first candidate pages in response to performing a first query using the first terms,
- causing the search engine to return second candidate pages in response to performing a second query using the second terms,
- assigning points to the first player if the first candidate pages returned by the search engine include the page displayed before the second candidate pages returned by the search engine include the page displayed, and
- assigning the points to the second player if the second candidate pages returned by the search engine include the page displayed before the first candidate pages returned by the search engine include the page displayed;
- storing one or more of the first terms and the second terms provided by the two or more players during play of the multi-player game and associated data;
- and
- utilizing the one or more of the first terms and the second terms and the associated data to improve results returned by the search engine.
A computer-readable storage medium having computer-readable instructions stored thereupon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to:
- display a page to two or more players via a multi-player game;
- when the page is displayed,
- receive first terms from a first player and receiving second terms from a second player,
- cause a search engine to return first candidate pages in response to performing a first query using the first terms,
- cause the search engine to return second candidate pages in response to performing a second query using the second terms, and
- assign points to the first player and the second player when the first player and the second player agree and correctly indicate that they are viewing the same or a different page as the other player;
- store one or more of the first terms and the second terms provided by the two or more players during play of the multi-player game and associated data;
- and
- utilize the one or more of the first terms and the second terms and the associated data to improve results returned by the search engine.
A computer-implemented method for using a human computation game to improve search engine performance, the computer-implemented method comprising performing computer-implemented operations for:
- displaying a page to two or more players via a multi-player game;
- upon displaying the page,
- receiving first terms from a first player and receiving second terms from a second player,
- causing a search engine to return first candidate pages in response to performing a first query using the first terms,
- causing the search engine to return second candidate pages in response to performing a second query using the second terms, and
- assigning points to the first player and the second player when the first player and the second player agree and correctly indicate that they are viewing the same or a different page as the other player;
- storing one or more of the first terms and the second terms provided by the two or more players during play of the multi-player game and associated data;
- and
- utilizing the one or more of the first terms and the second terms and the associated data to improve results returned by the search engine.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.