Interactive system and method for offering expert based interactive programs

• US 5,632,007 A
• Filed: 09/23/1994
• Issued: 05/20/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1994
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: OpenTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Original Assignee: ACTV, Inc. (Kudelski SA)
• Inventors: Freeman, Michael J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Hafiz, Tariq R.
• Application Number:
  US08/311,019
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• Field of Search: 395/13, 395/50-51, 395/60-61, 395/75-76, 395/77, 434/321
• US Class Current: 706/59
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3329 Natural language query formulation or dialogue systems
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/04 Inference or reasoning models

Abstract

A method of programming an interactive scenario on a multi-track storage media is disclosed. The interactive scenario includes a number of time-synchronized frames on separable data streams which are related in content to one-another. The interactive scenario is played back on an apparatus which selectively retrieves the data streams at a given time. A derision-making goal is defined for the interactive scenario. Once the goal has been defined, a set of rules is developed, preferably using knowledge derived from an expert, which lead to the defined goal. The rules relate hierarchically whereby the conclusions of at least some of the rules are premises for other rules. The rules also logically relate whereby the conclusion of a final rule or rules corresponds to the decision making goal. If the rules require premises to be obtained, queries are generated to interactively ask for the premises. The rules, premises, and queries are mapped into time-synchronized frames on a plurality of data streams. The streams are stored in a storage media for future retrieval. The frames may be arranged according to the hierarchy for providing a continuous flow of interactive conversation to ultimately reach the decision-making goal. The frames alternatively may be arranged to correspond to a "folded" hierarchy in order to conserve the number of required data streams. The retrieval method may dynamically provide the stored data streams to conserve the number of data streams required at any one time by the interactive scenario.

Claims

1. A method for offering expert based interactive programs to one or more users so that a high level of conversational responsiveness and interactivity is achieved, the method comprising:

defining a decision goal for an interactive scenario;

implementing a set of rules leading to the defined goal, the rules comprising at least one premise and a conclusion whereby the rules are related hierarchically to one another in that a conclusion of at least one of the rules is a premise of another rule;

forming queries, each query corresponding to a premise which requires a user response to determine the existence of the premise;

mapping the queries and rules into a plurality of media independent data streams to generate an interactive program, the plurality of data streams containing frames, the frames being time-synchronized between data streams and containing an information portion and a command portion;

storing the data streams in an interactive storage medium;

retrieving the plurality of data streams from the interactive storage medium; and

whereby the retrieved data streams offer the expert based interactive programs to the one or more users.

2. A method for receiving expert based interactive programs at one or more interactive terminals, each interactive program comprising a plurality of media independent data streams, the method comprising:

receiving the plurality of data streams, each data stream having a plurality of time-synchronized frames, wherein the frames contain embedded expert system rules and queries, the rules being hierarchically related to one another and comprising at least one premise and a conclusion;

selecting a frame from a single data stream out of the plurality of provided data streams using a signal selector, whereby the selected frame comprises a query;

presenting the query to a user through an interactive output device;

receiving a user entry in response to the presented query;

determining a next frame hierarchically related to the selected frame, the next frame determined based on the received user entry and the selected frame; and

obtaining the next frame using the signal selector, whereby the next frame contains another query or a conclusion to an expert system rule.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the step of obtaining comprises:

interpreting the received user entry and the selected frame to ascertain the location of the next frame;

choosing a data stream which corresponds to the interpreted location, where the selected data stream is chosen from the plurality of data streams including the single data stream.

4. A method of creating and storing an expert-based interactive program on an interactive media, the method comprising:

defining a goal for the expert-based program;

developing hierarchial rules related to the defined goal, the hierarchial rules containing premises and conclusions, wherein the rules are hierarchically linked together in that the conclusions of some rules are the premises of other rules;

forming queries, each query corresponding to a premise which requires a user response to determine the existence of the premise;

translating the queries and rules into a hierarchial tree diagram, wherein the hierarchial tree diagram logically organizes and relates the rules to one another by using branches;

mapping the hierarchial tree diagram into a plurality of media independent data streams in a predetermined sequence to generate an interactive program, each data stream having one or more frames related in content, wherein the frames represent and completely implement the branches of the hierarchical tree diagram; and

storing the plurality of data streams in the interactive media.

5. A method for offering expert based interactive programs to one or more users using one or more dynamically allocated data streams in order to conserve channel capacity, the method comprising:

defining a decision goal for an interactive scenario;

implementing a set of rules leading to the defined goal, each rule comprising at least one premise and a conclusion whereby the rules are related hierarchically to one another in that a conclusion of at least one of the rules is a premise of another rule;

generating queries corresponding to premises, each query requiring a user response to determine the existence of the premise;

mapping the queries and rules into a plurality of media independent data streams to generate an interactive program, each data stream containing one or more frames, the frames being time-synchronized between data streams and at least one frame containing an information message and a command message;

identifying a number of data streams to be transmitted during a frame interval, the number corresponding to the number of time-synchronized frames during the frame interval which contain an information message and a command message; and

transmitting the identified number of data streams dynamically during a current frame interval over a communications medium to an interactive terminal, wherein only those data streams having a frame with an information message and a command message are transmitted during the current frame interval.

6. A method of offering an expert-based system as an interactive program, contained on a plurality of media independent data streams, to one or more users so that a high level of conversational responsiveness and interactivity is achieved with an efficient number of data streams, the method comprising:

defining a goal for the expert-based system;

developing hierarchial rules related to the defined goal, the hierarchial rules containing premises and conclusions, wherein the rules are hierarchically linked together in that the conclusions to some rules are premises of other rules;

forming queries, each query corresponding to a premise that requires a user entry to determine the existence of the premise;

translating the queries and rules into a hierarchial tree diagram, wherein the hierarchial tree diagram logically organizes and relates the rules to one another by using branches;

mapping the hierarchial tree diagram into a plurality of data streams, each data stream having one or more frames related in content, with some of the frames containing information messages and command messages and other frames containing program synchronization segments, wherein the data streams represent and completely implement the branches of the hierarchical tree diagram;

folding frames containing information messages and command messages from at least one data stream into frames of other data streams containing only program synchronization segments, wherein the total number of required data streams is reduced to include at least one compacted data stream;

storing the reduced number of data streams, including the compacted data stream, in an interactive storage medium;

retrieving the reduced number of data streams from the interactive storage medium to an interactive terminal; and

whereby efficiency is improved by the storage and retrieval of the reduced number of data streams.

7. An expert based interactive system for offering to one or more users a high level of conversational responsiveness and interactivity, comprising:

a means for storing media independent data streams of interactive data, the interactive data comprised of time-synchronized frames containing premises, queries, and conclusions which represent rules of a hierarchial rule-base, the hierarchial rule-base formed in that at least one premise of one rule is a conclusion of another rule;

a means, connected to the storing means, for sending one or more of the stored data streams to at least one interactive terminal;

the interactive terminal for providing an interactive presentation to one or more users comprising;

a means for gathering a frame located on one of the sent data streams, wherein the frame includes instructions indicating a query;

a means, connected to the means for gathering, for generating an interactive query based on the instructions of the gathered frame;

a means, connected to the means for generating, for presenting the generated query to a user;

a means for receiving an interactive entry from the user to the generated interactive query;

a means, connected to the gathering means and the receiving means, for obtaining a next frame from any data stream, wherein the means for obtaining comprises a means for determining the next frame based on the contents of the gathered frame and the user'"'"'s interactive entry; and

whereby the user'"'"'s interactive entries result in a high level of conversational responsiveness and interactivity.

8. The system of claim 7 wherein the means for generating a query comprises a second means for storing at least one or more queries.

9. The system of claim 7 wherein the interactive terminal further comprises a processor, connected to the gathering means and obtaining means, for interpreting the gathered frame and executing the instructions contained in the gathered frame.

10. An interactive terminal for receiving an expert based interactive program, comprising:

a means for receiving one or more media independent data streams of interactive data, the interactive data comprised of time-synchronized frames comprising premises, queries, and conclusions which represent rules of a hierarchial rule-base, the hierarchial rule-base formed in that at least one premise of one rule is a conclusion of another rule;

a means for gathering a frame located on one of the received data streams, wherein the frame includes instructions indicating a query;

a means, connected to the means for gathering, for generating an interactive query based on the instructions of the gathered frame;

a means, connected to the means for generating, for presenting the generated query to a user;

a means for receiving an interactive entry from the user to the generated interactive query; and

a means, connected to the gathering means and the receiving means, for obtaining a next frame from any received data stream, wherein the means for obtaining comprises a means for determining the next frame based on the contents of the gathered frame and the user'"'"'s interactive entry.