METHOD, SYSTEM, AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPORTING PERSONAL SERVICE

• US 20090222507A1
• Filed: 02/27/2009
• Published: 09/03/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Takeda, Koichi, Koseki, Akira
• Granted Patent: US 7,991,825 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/202
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/00 Administration; Management

Abstract

A personal service support method for assisting an inquiry about a user operation in a virtual world, a computer program product, and a system for the same. The method includes: storing a dialog between a user and an agent; connecting the dialog in a list structure with another dialog in the list structure to produce a created dialog in a branch tree structure; and recording the created dialog in the branch tree structure. The computer program product tangibly embodies instructions which when implemented causes a computer to execute the steps of the method. The system includes: a dialog storage unit which stores a dialog between a user and an agent; and a dialog creating unit which connects the dialog in the list structure with another dialog in the list structure to create a dialog in a branch tree structure.

Claims

1. A personal service support method for assisting an inquiry about a user operation in a virtual world, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a dialog between a user and an agent, wherein said agent answers said inquiry about the user operation to produce a stored dialog;

connecting said dialog in said list structure with another dialog in said list structure to produce a created dialog in a branch tree structure based on the stored dialog having a list structure in which dialog units of said user and said agent are set as nodes and based on information on said nodes; and

recording said created dialog in said branch tree structure thereby assisting an inquiry about user operation in said virtual world.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of:

searching said stored dialog in said branch tree structure, according to a certain condition requested by said user or said agent.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein:

said information on each of said nodes contains structured information on a content and situation of said dialog; and

said certain condition requested by said user or said agent is about said structured information on said content and situation of said dialog.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein said structured information contains information on an object around said user and said agent in said virtual world.

5. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of creating a dialog in said branch tree structure further comprises:

when at least one pair of nodes of first and second dialogs agree with each other in terms of said structured information, connecting said first and second dialogs at said nodes agreeing in terms of said structured information to create a new dialog in said branch tree structure.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of creating a dialog in said branch tree structure further comprises:

when two consecutive nodes of a first dialog respectively agree with start and end nodes of a second dialog in terms of said structured information, inserting said second dialog between said two consecutive nodes of said first dialog to create a new dialog in said branch tree structure.

7. The method according to claim 3, wherein said step of creating a dialog in said branch tree structure further comprises:

creating a parent node while start nodes of dialogs whose structured information agrees with each other are set as child nodes; and

connecting said dialogs at said parent node to create a new dialog in said branch tree structure.

8. A computer program product tangibly embodying instructions of a method which when implemented causes a computer to execute the steps of:

storing a dialog between a user and an agent, wherein said agent answers an inquiry about a user operation to produce a stored dialog;

connecting said dialog in said list structure with another dialog in said list structure to create a dialog in a branch tree structure based on said stored dialog having a list structure in which dialog units of said user and said agent are set as nodes and based on information on said nodes; and

recording said created dialog in said branch tree structure.

9. A personal service support system for assisting an inquiry about a user operation in a virtual world, the system comprising:

a dialog storage unit which stores a dialog between a user and an agent, wherein said agent answers said inquiry about said user operation; and

a dialog creating unit which connects said dialog in said list structure with another dialog in said list structure to create a dialog in a branch tree structure based on said stored dialog having a list structure in which dialog units of said user and said agent are set as nodes and based on information on said nodes;

wherein said dialog storage unit stores said dialog in said branch tree structure created by said dialog creating unit.

10. The personal service support system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a dialog search unit which searches said dialog storage for said dialogs in said branch tree structure according to a certain condition requested by said user or said agent to produce a certain structured information.

11. The personal service support system according to claim 10, wherein:

said dialog storage unit stores said structured information on a content and situation of said dialogs as information on said nodes; and

said dialog search unit searches said dialogs by using said certain structured information as a search condition by said user or said agent.

12. The personal service support system according to claim 11, wherein said dialog storage unit stores information on objects around said user and said agent in said virtual world as said structured information.

13. The personal service support system according to claim 11, wherein when at least one pair of nodes of first and second dialogs agree with each other in terms of said structured information, said dialog creating unit connects said first and second dialogs at said nodes agreeing in terms of said structured information to create a new dialog in said branch tree structure.

14. The personal service support system according to claim 11, wherein when two consecutive nodes of a first dialog respectively agree with start and end nodes of a second dialog in terms of said structured information, said dialog creating unit inserts said second dialog between said two consecutive nodes of said first dialog to create a new dialog in said branch tree structure.

15. The personal service support system according to claim 11, wherein said dialog creating unit (i) creates a parent node while setting, as child nodes, start nodes of dialogs agreeing with each other in terms of said structured information, and (ii) connects the dialogs at said parent node to create a new dialog in said branch tree structure.

16. The personal service support system according to claim 9, further comprising:

a receiver unit which receives a dialog between a user and an agent, wherein said agent answers said inquiry about user operation.

17. The system according to claim 16, wherein said dialog creating unit is based on (i) said received dialog having said list structure in which utterance units of said user and said agent are set as nodes and (ii) on the information on said nodes.

18. The system according to claim 17, further comprising:

a dialog storage unit which stores (i) said dialog between said agent and said user and (ii) said dialog in said branch tree structure.