Dynamic creation of a conversational system from dialogue objects

• US 20050043953A1
• Filed: 09/26/2002
• Published: 02/24/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: VoiceObjects GmbH (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: VoiceObjects GmbH (Alvaria Incorporated)
• Inventors: Schulz, Jorg, Winterkamp, Tiemo
• Application Number:
  US10/490,884
• Publication Number:
  US 20050043953A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 704/275
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 2015/228 of application context
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 2203/355 Interactive dialogue design tools, features or methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/4936 Speech interaction details speech recognition per se G10L15/00

Abstract

A technique for building up a dialogue control is provided. The dialogue control controls a computer system by outputting requests to a dialogue partner and evaluating input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the requests. An input is received from a user for selecting a dialogue object. A dialogue object is a data element with at least one data field, the contents of which specifying a request to the dialogue partner or a parameter influencing how an input from the dialogue partner is evaluated during execution of the dialogue control. Further, an input is received from the user for defining the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object. The dialogue object controls the computer system during execution of the dialogue control in dependence of the selected dialogue object and the defined content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object.

Claims

1-49. -49. (cancelled)

50. (new) a method of building up a dialogue control implemented in a computer system, said dialogue control controlling the computer system by outputting requests to a dialogue partner and evaluating input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the requests, the method comprising:

receiving an input from a user for selecting a dialogue object, a dialogue object being a data element with at least one data field, the contents of said at least one data field specifying a request to the dialogue partner or a parameter influencing how an input from the dialogue partner is evaluated during execution of the dialogue control; and

receiving an input from the user for defining the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object,

wherein the dialogue object is adapted to control the computer system during execution of the dialogue control in dependence of the selected dialogue object and the defined content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object.

51. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue control is a voice control controlling the computer system by outputting spoken requests to a dialogue partner and evaluating spoken input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the spoken requests.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object is defined by inputting a sequence of letters suitable for being converted into spoken language by a device of the computer system for speech synthesis during the execution of the dialogue control, and outputting the converted sequence of letters to the dialogue partner.

53. The method of claim 51, wherein the content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object is defined by inputting an audio file or a reference link to an audio file, said audio file being suitable for being played by an audio file play unit of the computer system, and outputting the audio file to the dialogue partner.

54. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

generating meta data based on the selected dialogue object and the defined content of at least one data field, said meta data being suitable for generating programming code dynamically during run-time, i.e. during execution of the dialogue control, wherein execution of said programming code performs the dialogue control; and

implementing the meta data in the computer system or an external data base.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the programming code is a VoiceXML (Voice Extensible Markup Language) code.

56. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue control implemented in the computer system is a text-based dialogue control in a computer network or a mobile radio network.

57. The method of claim 56, wherein the text-based dialogue control implemented in the computer system is adapted for communication with the dialogue partner according to the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) protocol.

58. The method of claim 50, wherein the steps of receiving an input comprise:

providing an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) page having a menu or input field for the selection of the dialogue object or the definition of the content of the at least one data field.

59. The method of claim 50, wherein the steps of receiving an input comprise:

receiving a spoken input via a telephone line.

60. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

storing an identifier of the selected dialogue object and of the content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object in a data base.

61. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a menu object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to output a request to the dialogue partner for the selection of one of a plurality of menu options.

62. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a prompt object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to output a message to the dialogue partner without requesting an input.

63. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a conditional object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to allow for a conditional sequence control in dependence of an evaluated input from the dialogue partner.

64. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a query object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to output a query to the dialogue partner and receive and evaluate a response from the dialogue partner.

65. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

receiving an input from the user for selecting a sequence dialogue object having at least two data fields for storing identifiers of other dialogue objects, thereby specifying an execution sequence of the dialogue objects.

66. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object further has a data field for storing conditional instructions.

68. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object further has a data field for storing different input data received from the dialogue partner, said different input data being to be evaluated by the computer system as different responses to a request.

69. The method of claim 68, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to cause the computer system, during the execution of the dialogue control, to display a plurality of possible input data on the display of a telephone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or SmartPhone of the dialogue partner.

71. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue objects are organized in an object-orientated program structure having an inheritance hierarchy.

72. The method of claim 71, further comprising:

receiving an input from the user for generating a dialogue object based on the selected dialogue object.

73. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to cause the computer system to execute the dialogue control in dependence of a personal profile of the dialogue partner.

74. The method of claim 50, wherein the steps of receiving an input are performed under the guidance of a help assistant realized in software.

75. The method of claim 50, wherein the steps of receiving an input are performed with the aid of a text editor.

76. The method of claim 54, whereby the generated programming code is a SALT (Speech Application Language Tags) code.

77. The method of claim 54, whereby the generated programming code is a WML (Wireless Markup Language) code.

78. The method of claim 50, further comprising:

generating meta data on the basis of the selected dialogue object and the defined content of the at least one data field, the meta data being data suitable for generating programming code dynamically at run-time, i.e. during the execution of the dialogue control, said programming code being compatible to a format for the use of standard IVR (Interactive Voice Response) or voice dialogue or multimodal dialogue systems.

79. The method of claim 78, further comprising:

implementing the meta data in the computer system or an external data base.

80. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to detect events generated by other dialogue objects or the computer system and/or to execute the dialogue control in dependence of a detected event.

81. The method of claim 80, wherein the dialogue object is further adapted to save a status of the dialogue control, to interrupt the dialogue control in dependence of a first detected event, and to continue the dialogue control using the saved status in dependence of a second detected event.

82. The method of claim 50, wherein the dialogue object is extended by orthogonal characteristics for help, error-handling, speech and speech character functions.

83. The method of claim 82, wherein the orthogonal characteristics are describable in the form of meta data and the orthogonal characteristics are inheritable to other dialogue objects.

84. The method of claim 82, wherein the orthogonal characteristics are modifyable at run-time/call time of the dialogue.

67. The method of cliam 50, wherein the dialogue object further has a data field for storing different input data received from the dialogue partner, said different input data being to be evaluated by the computer system as being equivalent data.

70. The method of claim 67, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to cause the computer system, during the execution of the dialogue control, to start an error handling routine if after the evaluation of an input from the dialogue partner, none of the possible inputs could be determined.

85. A computer program product having a storage medium for storing programming code containing instructions capable of causing a processor, when executing the instructions, to build up a dialogue control to be implemented in a computer system, said dialogue control controlling the computer system to output requests to a dialogue partner and evaluate input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the requests, the dialogue control being built up by:

receiving an input from a user for selecting a dialogue object, a dialogue object being a data element with at least one data field, the contents of said at least one data field specifying a request to the dialogue partner or a parameter influencing how an input from the dialogue partner is evaluated during execution of the dialogue control; and

receiving an input from the user for defining the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object,

wherein the dialogue object is adapted to control the computer system during execution of the dialogue control in dependence of the selected dialogue object and the defined content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object.

86. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object is defined by inputting a sequence of letters suitable for being converted into spoken language by a device of the computer system for speech synthesis during the execution of the dialogue control, and outputting the converted sequence of letters to the dialogue partner.

87. The apparatus of claim 85, wherein the content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object is defined by inputting an audio file or a reference link to an audio file, said audio file being suitable for being played by an audio file play unit of the computer system, and outputting the audio file to the dialogue partner.

88. An apparatus for building up a dialogue control implemented in a computer system, the dialogue control controlling the computer system by outputting requests to a dialogue partner and evaluating an input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the requests, the apparatus comprising:

a dialogue storage unit for storing dialogue objects, a dialogue object being a data element having at least one data field, the content of said at least one data field specifying a request to the dialogue partner or a parameter influencing the evaluation of an input from the dialogue partner during execution of the dialogue control, wherein the dialogue objects are adapted to control the computer system in dependence of a selected dialogue object and a defined content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object during execution of the dialogue control; and

an input unit for receiving an input for selecting a dialogue object and defining the content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object.

89. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue control is a voice control controlling the computer system by outputting spoken requests to a dialogue partner and evaluating spoken input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the spoken requests.

90. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising:

a meta data generator for generating meta data based on the selected dialogue object and the defined content of at least one data field, said meta data being suitable for generating programming code dynamically during run-time, i.e. during execution of the dialogue control, wherein execution of said programming code performs the dialogue control,

wherein said meta data is implemented in the computer system or an external data base.

91. The apparatus of claim 90, wherein the programming code is a VoiceXML (Voice Extensible Markup Language) code.

92. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue control implemented in the computer system is a text-based dialogue control in a computer network or a mobile radio network.

93. The apparatus of claim 92, wherein the text-based dialogue control implemented in the computer system is adapted for communication with the dialogue partner according to the WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) protocol.

94. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising:

an HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) page provision unit for providing an HTML page having a menu or input field for the selection of the dialogue object or the definition of the content of the at least one data field.

95. The apparatus of claim 88, capable of receiving spoken input via a telephone line.

96. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising:

an identifier storage unit for storing an identifier of the selected dialogue object and of the content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object in a data base.

97. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a menu object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to output a request to the dialogue partner for the selection of one of a plurality of menu options.

98. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a prompt object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to output a message to the dialogue partner without requesting an input.

99. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a conditional object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to allow for a conditional sequence control in dependence of an evaluated input from the dialogue partner.

100. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is a dialogue object selectable from a plurality of dialogue objects and the plurality of dialogue objects comprises a query object which, during the execution of the dialogue control, causes the computer system to output a query to the dialogue partner and receive and evaluate a response from the dialogue partner.

101. The apparatus of claim 88, capable of receiving an input from the user for selecting a sequence dialogue object having at least two data fields for storing identifiers of other dialogue objects, thereby specifying an execution sequence of the dialogue objects.

102. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object further has a data field for storing conditional instructions.

103. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object further has a data field for storing different input data received from the dialogue partner, said different input data being to be evaluated by the computer system as being equivalent data.

104. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object further has a data field for storing different input data received from the dialogue partner, said different input data being to be evaluated by the computer system as different responses to a request.

105. The apparatus of claim 104, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to cause the computer system, during the execution of the dialogue control, to display a plurality of possible input data on the display of a telephone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or SmartPhone of the dialogue partner.

106. The apparatus of claim 103, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to cause the computer system, during the execution of the dialogue control, to start an error handling routine if after the evaluation of an input from the dialogue partner, none of the possible inputs could be determined.

107. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue objects are organized in an object-orientated program structure having an inheritance hierarchy.

108. The apparatus of claim 107, capable of receiving an input from the user for generating a dialogue object based on the selected dialogue object.

109. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to cause the computer system to execute the dialogue control in dependence of a personal profile of the dialogue partner.

110. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising a software-implemented help assistant for providing user guidance.

111. The apparatus of claim 88, capable of receiving an input with the aid of a text editor.

112. The apparatus of claim 90, whereby the generated programming code is a SALT (Speech Application Language Tags) code.

113. The apparatus of claim 90, whereby the generated programming code is a WML (Wireless Markup Language) code.

114. The apparatus of claim 88, further comprising:

a meta data generator for generating meta data on the basis of the selected dialogue object and the defined content of the at least one data field, the meta data being data suitable for generating programming code dynamically at run-time, i.e. during the execution of the dialogue control, said programming code being compatible to a format for the use of standard WVR (Interactive Voice Response) or voice dialogue or multimodal dialogue systems.

115. The apparatus of claim 114, wherein the meta data is implemented in the computer system or an external data base.

116. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is adapted to detect events generated by other dialogue objects or the computer system and/or to execute the dialogue control in dependence of a detected event.

117. The apparatus of claim 116, wherein the dialogue object is further adapted to save a status of the dialogue control, to interrupt the dialogue control in dependence of a first detected event, and to continue the dialogue control using the saved status in dependence of a second detected event.

118. The apparatus of claim 88, wherein the dialogue object is extended by orthogonal characteristics for help, error-handling, speech and speech character functions.

119. The apparatus of claim 118, wherein the orthogonal characteristics are describable in the form of meta data and the orthogonal characteristics are inheritable to other dialogue objects.

120. The apparatus of claim 118, wherein the orthogonal characteristics are modifyable at run-time/call time of the dialogue.

121. A computer system for executing a dialogue control, comprising:

a request output unit for outputting requests to a dialogue partner; and

an evaluation unit for evaluating input from the dialogue partner in reaction to requests,

wherein the computer system is arranged for executing the dialogue control in dependence of at least one dialogue object being a data element having at least one data field, the content of said at least one data field specifying a request to the dialogue partner or a parameter influencing the evaluation of an input from the dialogue partner during execution of the dialogue control, wherein the computer system is further arranged for executing the dialogue control in dependence of the content of at least one data field.

122. The computer system of claim 121, arranged for executing a dialogue control which has been built up by receiving an input from a user for selecting a dialogue object, and receiving an input from the user for defining the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object.

123. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a meta data access unit for accessing meta data describing the dialogue control and for generating programming code from the meta data during the dialogue control, wherein running the programming code causes the dialogue control to be executed.

124. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a connection unit for connecting to a telephone to output the requests to the dialogue partner via a telephone line and receive the input from the dialogue partner via said telephone line.

125. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a voice and dialogue control unit for performing a voice and dialogue control according to the VoiceXML (Voice Extensible Markup Language) standard.

126. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a speech recognition unit for performing a speech recognition to evaluate the input from the dialogue partner.

127. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a speech synthesis unit for performing a speech synthesis to convert a sequence of letters contained in a data field of a dialogue object into spoken language and output said spoken language to the dialogue partner.

128. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a play unit for playing an audio file.

129. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising an error handler for performing an error-handling routine when no evaluation was possible after an input from the dialogue partner.

130. The computer system of claim 121, further comprising a dialogue control execution unit for executing the dialogue control in dependence of a personal profile of the dialogue partner.

131. The computer system of claim 121, arranged for outputting text on a display of a telephone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or SmartPhone of the dialogue partner.

132. A method of building up a dialogue control implemented in a computer system, said dialogue control controlling the computer system by outputting requests to a dialogue partner and evaluating input from the dialogue partner in reaction to the requests, the method comprising:

receiving an input from a user for selecting a dialogue object being a data element with at least one data field, the contents of said at least one data field specifying a request to the dialogue partner or a parameter influencing how an input from the dialogue partner is evaluated during execution of the dialogue control;

receiving an input from the user for defining the content of at least one data field of the selected dialogue object, the selected dialogue object being adapted to control the computer system during execution of the dialogue control in dependence of the selected dialogue object and the defined content of the at least one data field of the selected dialogue object;

generating meta data based on the selected dialogue object and the defined content of at least one data field, said meta data being suitable for generating programming code dynamically during run-time, wherein execution of said programming code performs the dialogue control; and

implementing the meta data in the computer system or an external data base.