unitseach

Unitseach is a hypothetical framework that enables unit-aware search across both structured and unstructured data. It combines natural language processing with unit parsing to identify quantities and units in text, normalize them to canonical representations, and support queries based on numeric value and unit without manual conversion.

The goal of unitseach is to improve retrieval accuracy when units matter, such as in scientific papers, technical manuals, and engineering logs. By annotating content with dimensional metadata, it can perform conversions during query evaluation, enabling cross-unit comparisons and ensuring that results satisfy specified unit constraints.

Core concepts include a unit registry, quantity extraction, unit normalization, context disambiguation, and a ranking model that accounts for unit compatibility and the significance of measured quantities. Architecturally, unitseach consists of a parser, a unit registry containing supported units and conversion rules, a quantity normalizer, a query engine, and a ranking module. These components are designed to operate on both streaming text and batch index data, with references for adding new units and domain-specific rules.

Use cases encompass literature search for experiments at specific scales, auditing inventories with quantities, and compliance checks in manufacturing or logistics. Examples include locating documents that cite a length exceeding a given threshold in meters, or finding energy values expressed in different units that match a target specification.

Limitations include ambiguity in natural language, handling of non-linear or compound units, locale-specific formatting, incomplete unit metadata, and potential performance overhead for large corpora. History and status remain unsettled, with ongoing discussions about standardization and interoperability across domains.

See also: unit conversion, information retrieval, natural language processing, quantity extraction.