JOIN USPersonalised search in a jiffy
Mobile internet search could get cumbersome if you find it tough to type well. Three Bangaloreans have now developed a unique browser called “Pugmarks” that is smart enough to intelligently predict your question and bring relevant information in a jiffy even before you ask!.
They used “contextual discovery” technology to create the Android / Chrome search browser that relies on your moods, conversations, current readings and meetings for its personalised recommendations.
Based in Basavanagudi, the trio of Adityanag Nagesh, Bharath Kumar Mohan and Venkatesh Sharma dug deep into their repertoire of tech skills to develop the browser and a related App, available for free download on the Google Play Store.
Since the browser’s launch in November 2013, Pugmarks has already recorded over 2,800 downloads in India, the United States, Philippines and other Southeast Asian nations, Nagesh told Deccan Herald.
Contextual, relevant and real-time, the browser digs deep into your browsing history to list the results. Your earlier searches are neatly stitched together as “reading cards” which could also transform as a slideshow.
Mohan, a researcher from Indian Institute of Science in Information Retrieval, Nagesh with experience in SAP consulting and ex-Google employee Sharma spent several hundred manhours to work out the algorithms for this feature.
So, here’s how it works once you download the app “Pugmarks Smart Browser” and install it in your mobile phone or tablet: You type a search question, and the browser initially opens like a Google search result page. Holding the smartphone in the portrait mode, swipe from right to left to open a list of recommendations from Pugmarks.
For instance, if you searched for “BMTC buses,” the Google results page is on your left and to the right is the smart browser, listing all the relevant articles, photos and news related to BMTC sourced from your frequently visited news sites.
Separate tab
Press on a separate tab at one corner of the browser and you get linked to opinions of experts and resources listed with a brief synopsis. There is no need to swipe in the landscape mode. The smart browser automatically comes alive on the right side. More than search, the developers call it a Context Engine. “Our smart browser (for Android and Chome) understands the kind of pages you are reading, and brings high quality recommendations, without you going to Google,” explained Nagesh.
Android enthusiast, Rakshith Chakravarthy had this to say on the browser: “With Pugmarks, I type less. My queries also don’t have to be so precise. I typically start by searching on a topic of my interest, find a page, and then start looking at the recommendations Pugmarks brings me. This is completely different to my experience on Chrome.”