Information processing system which understands information and acts accordingly and method therefor

• US 6,760,717 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2003
• Issued: 07/06/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 11/08/1994
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha (Canon Inc.)
• Inventors: Jeyachandran, Suresh, Suda, Aruna Rohra
• Primary Examiner(s): Davis, George B.
• Application Number:
  US10/393,466
• Publication Number:
  US 20030144977A1
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 706/45, 706/46
• US Class Current: 706/45
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 5/02 Knowledge representation; Symbolic representation

Abstract

An information processing system which understands the input information as a situation, infers the requirements that situation merits and the preferred responses to those requirements using a knowledge base which has knowledge about the situations, requirements and their responses and the relations among them, and by generating these inferences further understands the input and the situation, which enables it to perform efficiently and effectively, given small amount of input information. If input information is in natural language, the linguistic knowledge base is used to analyze the input natural language information. Further, a knowledge of the user, the operations performed by the user and knowledge of the relationship between the operations of the user and the attribute of the user may also be used by the system to appropriately operate for each user.

Claims

1. An execution control system comprising:

operation means which is operated by a user;

executing means for executing a process in accordance with the operation performed by said operation means;

a knowledge base having knowledge of operations to be performed by the operation means and the relationship among the operations and the attributes of the user;

inference means for inferring the attributes of the user in accordance with the knowledge in said knowledge base; and

control means for controlling execution to be performed by said executing means in accordance with the attribute of the user inferred by said inference means.

2. An execution control system according to claim 1, wherein the attributes of the user have a hierarchical relationship among multiple attributes of same type.

3. An execution control system according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls said executing means to omit execution of a specific process if the inferred attribute of the user is a predetermined attribute.

4. An execution control system according to claim 3, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user who is an expert of the operation of the system, and the specified process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

5. An execution control system according to claim 1, wherein said control means controls said executing means to execute a process, which is modified in a specific manner, if the inferred attribute of the user is a specific attribute.

6. An execution control system according to claim 5, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user naive to the operation of the system, and said specific process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

7. An execution control system according to claim 1, wherein said inference means uses the difference between the usual state of the user and the current state of the user to make an inference.

8. An execution control system comprising:

operation means to be operated by a user;

executing means for executing a process in accordance with the operation performed by the operation means;

history storage means for storing history of operations performed by said operation means;

a knowledge base having knowledge of the operations of the operation means and the relationships between the operations and the attributes of the user;

inference means for inferring the attributes of the user in accordance with the history of the operations stored in said history storage means and the knowledge in said knowledge base; and

control means for controlling execution of the process by said executing means in accordance with the attributes of the user inferred by said inference means.

9. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said control means controls said execution means to omit a specific process if the inferred attribute of the user is a predetermined attribute.

10. An execution control system according to claim, 9, wherein claim the user having the predetermined attribute is a user who is an expert of the operation of the system, and the specified process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

11. An execution control system according to claim 10, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user naive to the operation of the system, and said specific process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

12. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said control means controls said executing means to execute a process, to which a specific process is added, if the inferred attribute of the user is a specific attribute.

13. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said control means selects the output form of the result of execution of the process performed by said executing means from a plurality of output forms in accordance with the inferred attributes of the user.

14. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein the attribute of the user is the degree of interest of the user, and said control means selects an output form, so as to affect the degree of user'"'"'s interest in a specified manner.

15. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein the attribute of the user is time limitation, and said control means selects a response form for the user in accordance with the time limitation.

16. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein the attribute of the user is a style peculiar to the user, and said control means causes the result of execution to be output in the style peculiar to the user.

17. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein the attribute of the user is the current feeling of the user, and said control means outputs information for encouraging the user in a depressed state.

18. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein the attribute of the user is the current feeling of the user, and said control means to modify the output to the user appropriately.

19. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein the attribute of the user is the user'"'"'s purpose for using the system.

20. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said inference means infers the user'"'"'s purpose for usage to be a demonstration of the system if operations have been performed in a specific operational procedure by said operation means.

21. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said inference means infers the user'"'"'s purpose for usage to be a test of the system if an information containing limiting values has been input by said operation means.

22. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said operation means is means for inputting information or a command by a sequence of manual operations.

23. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said inference means uses the interval between the sequence of manual operations or the operational speed to make an inference.

24. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said history storage means includes, in the history, the interval between the sequence of manual operations or the operational speed.

25. An execution control system according to claim 8, wherein said inference means infers the usual state of the user, and uses the difference between the usual state and the present state to make an inference.

26. An execution control method comprising the steps of:

an executing step for executing a process in accordance with the operation of an operation portion performed by a user;

a knowledge base having knowledge of operations of the operation portion and knowledge of the relationship between the operations and the attributes of users;

an inference step for inferring the attribute of the user in accordance with the knowledge of said knowledge base; and

a control step for controlling execution of a process to be performed by said executing step in accordance with the attribute of the user inferred in said inference step.

27. An execution control method according to claim 26, wherein the attributes of the user have a hierarchical relationship among a multiple attributes of same type.

28. An execution control method according to claim 26, wherein said control step is a step for controlling said executing step to omit execution of a specific process if the inferred attribute of the user is a predetermined attribute.

29. An execution control method according to claim 26, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user who is an expert of the operation of the system, and the specified process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

30. An execution control method according to claim 26, wherein if the inferred attribute of the user is a predetermined attribute, then said control step controls said executing step to execute a process, modified in a specific manner.

31. An execution control method according to claim 30, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user naive to the operation of the system, and said specific process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

32. An execution control method according to claim 26, wherein said inference step uses the difference between the usual state of the user and the current state of the user to make an inference.

33. An execution control method comprising the steps of:

an operation step in which an operation is performed by a user;

an executing step for executing a process in accordance with the operation performed in said operating step;

a history storage step for storing history of the operations performed in said operating step;

a knowledge base having knowledge of the operations to be performed in said operation step and knowledge of the relationships between the operations and the attributes of the user;

an inference step for inferring the attribute of the user in accordance with the history stored in said history storage step and the knowledge of said knowledge base; and

a control step for controlling execution in said executing step in accordance with the attributes of the user inferred in said inference step.

34. An execution method according to claim 33, wherein said control step is a step for controlling said executing step to omit a specific process if the inferred attribute of the user is a predetermined attribute.

35. An execution control method according to claim 34, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user who is an expert of the operation of the system, and the specified process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

36. An execution control method according to claim 35, wherein the user having the predetermined attribute is a user naive to the operation of the system, and said specific process is a process for notifying the user a detailed description of the operation of the system.

37. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said control step is arranged to control said executing step to execute a process by adding a specific process if the inferred attribute of the user is a specific attribute.

38. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said operation step is a step for inputting information in a natural language.

39. Am execution control method according to claim 33, wherein the attribute of the user is the degree of interest of the user, and said control step is arranged to select an output form, so as to affect the degree of user'"'"'s interest in a specified manner.

40. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein the attribute of the user is time limitation, and said control step is arranged to select a response form for the user in accordance with the time limitation.

41. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein the attribute of the user is a style peculiar to the user, and said control step is arranged to cause the result of execution to be output in the style peculiar to the user.

42. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein the attribute of the user is the current feeling of the user, and said control step is arranged to output information for encouraging the user in a depressed state.

43. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein the attribute of the user is the current feeling of the user, and said control step is arranged to modify the output to the user appropriately.

44. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein the attribute of the user is the user'"'"'s purpose for using the system.

45. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said inference step is arranged to infer the user'"'"'s purpose for usage to be a demonstration of the system if operations have been performed in a specific operational procedure in said operation step.

46. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said inference step is arranged to infer the user'"'"'s purpose for usage to be a test of the system of an information containing limiting values has been input in said operation step.

47. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said operation step is arranged to input information or a command by a sequence of manual operations.

48. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said inference step is arranged to use the interval between the sequence of manual operations or the operational speed to make an inference.

49. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said history includes the interval between the sequence of manual operations or the operational speed.

50. An execution control method according to claim 33, wherein said inference step is arranged to infer the usual state of the user, and use the difference between the usual state and the present state to make an inference.