Method for using two-dimensional dynamics in assessing the similarity of sets of data

摘要

A method for finding sets of data (SDDs) for presentation in two-dimensions, which are similar to a target SDD, is invented. The method leverages a new category of signatures, called equivalence signatures, to characterize the SDDs. The equivalence signature is computed as the action for the motion of a string which sweeps out a sheet specified by the values of the digital data. These signatures have the salient feature that, at worst, they change in a bounded manner when small changes are made to the SDDs and when used to find SDDs that are similar to a target SDDs, they allow for a significant reduction in the number of SDDs to be compared with the target. This is an improvement over the state of the art wherein the computational expensive process of performing a complete search against the entire corpus must be applied.