Method and apparatus for providing a contextual description of an object

• US 9,396,185 B2
• Filed: 10/31/2006
• Issued: 07/19/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2006
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Scenera Mobile Technologies LLC (Scenera Research LLC)
• Original Assignee: Scenera Mobile Technologies LLC (Scenera Research LLC)
• Inventors: Singh, Munindar P., Singh, Mona
• Primary Examiner(s): Godbold, Douglas
• Application Number:
  US11/554,840
• Publication Number:
  US 20080103756A1
• Time in Patent Office: 3,549 Days
• Field of Search: 704/4, 704/9, 704/270, 704/272
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/56 Natural language generation

Abstract

A method for providing a contextual description of an object includes receiving a first object associated with a user. The first object has a first object type representing one of a place, an event, and a person and includes a first attribute associated with the respective place, event, or person. A second object is identified that has a second attribute related to the first attribute, and has a second object type representing one of a place, an event, and a person. According to an exemplary embodiment, a first pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the first object type is dynamically combined with a second pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the second object type to form a linguistic prompt related to the place, event, or person representing the first object. The linguistic prompt is then presented to the user to describe the place, event, or person representing the first object.

Claims

1. A method for providing a contextual description of an object, the method comprising:

receiving a first object having a first object type representing a person, the first object associated with a first user and including a first attribute associated with the respective person;

identifying a second object having a second attribute related to the first attribute, the second object having a second object type representing an event;

retrieving, from a data store, a first pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the first object type and a second pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the second object type;

determining automatically a temporal phrase template including a temporal expression based on a time related to the event, the temporal phrase template selected from a plurality of phrase templates based on an interval of the time related to the event such that different phrase templates are associated with different intervals;

dynamically combining the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template and with the temporal phrase template to form a linguistic prompt related to the person representing the first object, wherein the linguistic prompt comprises the first pre-defined phrase template, the second pre-defined phrase template, and the temporal phrase template; and

presenting the linguistic prompt,

wherein at least one of the preceding actions is performed on at least one electronic hardware component.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the second object includes:

providing a query including the first attribute and having a query type representing one of a place, an event and a person, wherein the query type is based on the first object type; and

executing the query to retrieve the respective place, event, or person having an attribute that satisfies the query.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein identifying the second object includes:

providing a plurality of queries, wherein each query includes the first attribute and has a query type representing one of a place, an event, and a person;

sorting the plurality of queries in an order based on the first object type;

executing the plurality of queries in order to determine whether the corresponding place, event, or person has an attribute that satisfies the query; and

retrieving the corresponding place, event, or person having an attribute that satisfies the query.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the second object is retrieved first.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein prior to combining the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template, the method comprises:

considering a set of first object phrase templates associated with the first object type;

considering a set of second object phrase templates associated with the second object type;

selecting from the set of first object phrase templates at least one first object phrase template that refers to the second object type; and

selecting from the set of second phrase templates at least one second object phrase template that refers to the first object type.

6. The method of claim 5 further comprising:

identifying from the selected first object phrase templates the first pre-defined phrase template based on at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between the first attribute of the first object and the second attribute of the second object; and

selecting from the selected second object phrase templates the second pre-defined phrase template based on at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between the first and second attributes.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising:

identifying a third object having a third attribute related to the second and first attributes, the third object having a third object type representing one of a place, an event and a person;

selecting a third pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the third object type based on at least one of the first and second object types and on the first and second attributes; and

dynamically combining the third pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the third object type with the first and second pre-defined phrase templates to form the linguistic prompt related to the place, event, or person representing the first object.

8. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a placeholder expression in at least one of the first and second pre-defined phrase templates and wherein combining the first and second pre-defined phrase templates includes replacing the placeholder expression with a value designated by the placeholder expression.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the placeholder expression includes a temporal expression based on at least one of a time an event begins and ends.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein prior to presenting the linguistic prompt to the one of the first and second users, the method comprises:

analyzing the linguistic prompt to detect grammatical errors in the linguistic prompt; and

correcting any detected grammatical errors.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium containing program instructions, which when executed, perform a method for providing a contextual description of an object, the computer readable medium comprising program instructions for:

receiving a first object having a first object type representing a person, the first object associated with a first user and including a first attribute associated with the respective person;

identifying a second object having a second attribute related to the first attribute, the second object having a second object type representing an event;

retrieving, from a data store, a first pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the first object type and a second pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the second object type;

determining automatically a temporal phrase template including a temporal expression based on a time related to the event, the temporal phrase template selected from a plurality of phrase templates based on an interval of the time related to the event such that different phrase templates are associated with different intervals;

dynamically combining the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template and with the temporal phrase template to form a linguistic prompt related to the person representing the first object, wherein the linguistic prompt comprises the first pre-defined phrase template, the second pre-defined phrase template, and the temporal phrase template; and

presenting the linguistic prompt.

12. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein instructions for identifying the second object include:

providing a query including the first attribute and having a query type representing one of a place, an event and a person, wherein the query type is based on the first object type; and

executing the query to retrieve the respective place, event, or person having an attribute that satisfies the query.

13. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein instructions for identifying the second object include:

providing a plurality of queries, wherein each query includes the first attribute and has a query type representing one of a place, an event, and a person;

sorting the plurality of queries in an order based on the first object type;

executing the plurality of queries in order to determine whether the corresponding place, event, or person has an attribute that satisfies the query; and

retrieving the corresponding place, event, or person having an attribute that satisfies the query.

14. The computer readable medium of claim 13 wherein the second object is retrieved first.

15. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein prior to combining the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template, the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

providing a set of first object phrase templates associated with the first object type;

providing a set of second object phrase templates associated with the second object type;

selecting from the set of first object phrase templates at least one first object phrase template that refers to the second object type; and

selecting from the set of second phrase templates at least one second object phrase template that refers to the first object type.

16. The computer readable medium of claim 15 further comprising instructions for:

identifying from the selected first object phrase templates the first pre-defined phrase template based on at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between the first attribute of the first object and the second attribute of the second object; and

selecting from the selected second object phrase templates the second pre-defined phrase template based on at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between the first and second attributes.

17. The computer readable medium of claim 11 further comprising instructions for:

identifying a third object having a third attribute related to the second and first attributes, the third object having a third object type representing one of a place, an event and a person;

selecting a third pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the third object type based on at least one of the first and second object types and on the first and second attributes; and

dynamically combining the third pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the third object type with the first and second pre-defined phrase templates to form the linguistic prompt related to the place, event, or person representing the first object.

18. The computer readable medium of claim 11 further comprising instructions for providing a placeholder expression in at least one of the first and second pre-defined phrase templates and wherein instructions for combining the first and second pre-defined phrase templates include replacing the placeholder expression with a value designated by the placeholder expression.

19. The computer readable medium of claim 18 wherein the placeholder expression includes a temporal expression based on at least one of a time an event begins and ends.

20. The computer readable medium of claim 11 wherein prior to presenting the linguistic prompt to the one of the first and second users, the computer readable medium comprises instructions for:

analyzing the linguistic prompt to detect grammatical errors in the linguistic prompt; and

correcting any detected grammatical errors.

21. An apparatus for providing a contextual description of an object, the apparatus comprising system components including:

a data store configured to store information relating to places, events and people associated with one or more users,

an object description module coupled to the data store, the object description module comprising;

an object determination unit configured to receive a first object having a first object type representing a person, the first object associated with a first user and including a first attribute associated with the respective person, and to identify a second object having a second attribute related to the first attribute, the second object having a second object type representing an event;

a phrase generator configured to retrieve, from the data store, a first pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the first object type and a second pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the second object type, determining automatically a temporal phrase template including a temporal expression based on a time related to the event, the temporal phrase template selected from a plurality of phrase templates based on an interval of the time related to the event such that different phrase templates are associated with different intervals, and dynamically combine the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template and with the temporal phrase template to form a linguistic prompt related to the person representing the first object, wherein the linguistic prompt comprises the first pre-defined phrase template, the second pre-defined phrase template, and the temporal phrase template; and

a presentation unit configured to present the linguistic prompt;

wherein at least one of the system components includes at least one electronic hardware component.

22. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the object determination unit is configured to identify the second object by executing a query including the first attribute and having a query type representing one of a place, an event and a person, wherein the query type is based on the first object type, and retrieving the respective place, event, or person having an attribute that satisfies the query.

23. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the object determination unit is configured to identify the second object by:

considering a plurality of queries, wherein each query includes the first attribute and has a query type representing to one of a place, an event, and a person;

sorting the plurality of queries in an order based on the first object type;

executing the plurality of queries in order to determine whether the corresponding place, event, or person has an attribute that satisfies the query; and

retrieving from the data store the corresponding place, event, or person having an attribute that satisfies the query.

24. The apparatus of claim 23 wherein the second object is retrieved first.

27. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the object determination unit is configured to identify a third object having a third attribute related to the second and first attributes, the third object having a third object type representing one of a place, an event and a person, and wherein the phrase generator is configured to select a third pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the third object type based on at least one of the first and second object types and on the first and second attributes, and to dynamically combine the third pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the third object type with the first and second pre-defined phrase templates to form the linguistic prompt related to the place, event, or person representing the first object.

28. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the phrase generator is configured to replace a placeholder expression in at least one of the first and second pre-defined phrase templates with a value designated by the placeholder expression.

29. The apparatus of claim 28 wherein the placeholder expression includes a temporal expression based on at least one of a time an event begins and ends.

30. The apparatus of claim 21 further comprising a grammar checking unit configured to analyze the linguistic prompt to detect grammatical errors in the linguistic prompt, and to correct any detected grammatical errors.

31. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the apparatus is an electronic device associated with the one of the first and second users that includes:

a plurality of utility applications, wherein the first object is received from one of the utility applications; and

an interface for displaying the linguistic prompt to the one of the first and second users.

32. The apparatus of claim 21 wherein the apparatus is a server comprising:

a communication interface for communicating with a mobile communication device associated with the one of the first and second users over a network and configured to receive the first object from one of a plurality of utility applications included in the mobile communication device and to transmit the linguistic prompt to the one of the first and second users via the mobile communication device.

25. The apparatus of 21 wherein prior to combining the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template, the phrase generator is configured to consider a set of first object phrase templates associated with the first object type, to consider a set of second object phrase templates associated with the second object type, to select from the set of first object phrase templates at least one first object phrase template that refers to the second object type, and to select from the set of second phrase templates at least one second object phrase template that refers to the first object type.

26. The apparatus of claim 25 wherein the phrase generator is further configured to identify from the selected first object phrase templates the first pre-defined phrase template based on at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between the first attribute of the first object and the second attribute of the second object, and to select from the selected second object phrase templates the second pre-defined phrase template based on at least one of a temporal and a spatial relationship between the first and second attributes.

33. A system for providing a contextual description of an object, the apparatus comprising:

means for receiving a first object having a first object type representing a person, the first object associated with a first user and including a first attribute associated with the respective person;

means for identifying a second object having a second attribute related to the first attribute, the second object having a second object type representing an event;

means for retrieving, from a data store, a first pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the first object type and a second pre-defined phrase template corresponding to the second object type;

means for determining automatically a temporal phrase template including a temporal expression based on a time related to the event, the temporal phrase template selected from a plurality of phrase templates based on an interval of the time related to the event such that different phrase templates are associated with different intervals;

means for dynamically combining the first pre-defined phrase template with the second pre-defined phrase template and with the temporal phrase template to form a linguistic prompt related to the person representing the first object, wherein the linguistic prompt comprises the first pre-defined phrase template, the second pre-defined phrase template, and the temporal phrase template; and

means for presenting the linguistic prompt,

wherein at least one of the means includes at least one electronic hardware component.