Using a personal digital assistant to retrieve an item from a remote source
First Claim
1. One or more computing devices for implementing personal digital assistant (PDA) functionality, comprising:
- a dialog system configured to interact with a user via a conversational user interface, the dialog system being configured to;
receive at least one input message from the user, in which the user expresses an intent to obtain a desired content item; and
interpret said at least one input message using a language understanding component, to provide an interpreted request;
a location determination component configured to identify one or more source components, each of which provides a copy of the desired content item,the location determination component including escalation logic for identifying said one or more source components by exploring a ranked set of respective retrieval options implemented by plural respective decision blocks,wherein the location determination component is configured to;
identify an access point in the ranked set of retrieval options based on an assessed level of generality of the interpreted request, the access point being a highest-ranked retrieval option in the set of retrieval options for a first case in which the interpreted request does not specify a particular retrieval option, the access point being the particular retrieval option for a second case in which the interpreted request specifies the particular retrieval option; and
commence a search for said one or more source components starting at the access point; and
an item retrieval component configured to, in response to the search, retrieve the desired content item from at least one identified source component and to send the desired content item to a target component.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A technique is described herein for using personal digital assistant (PDA) functionality to assist a user in retrieving a content item from a source component, such as a remote user computing device. In one manner of operation, the technique involves: receiving at least one input message from the user, in which the user expresses an intent to obtain a desired content item; interpreting the input message(s) using a language understanding component of a dialog system, to provide an interpreted request; identifying zero, one or more source components, each of which provides a copy of the desired content item; retrieving the desired content item from at least one identified source component; and sending the desired content item over a computer network to a target component. The identifying operation involves identifying the source component(s) with reference to a hierarchically-arranged set of retrieval options.
29 Citations
19 Claims
-
1. One or more computing devices for implementing personal digital assistant (PDA) functionality, comprising:
-
a dialog system configured to interact with a user via a conversational user interface, the dialog system being configured to; receive at least one input message from the user, in which the user expresses an intent to obtain a desired content item; and interpret said at least one input message using a language understanding component, to provide an interpreted request; a location determination component configured to identify one or more source components, each of which provides a copy of the desired content item, the location determination component including escalation logic for identifying said one or more source components by exploring a ranked set of respective retrieval options implemented by plural respective decision blocks, wherein the location determination component is configured to; identify an access point in the ranked set of retrieval options based on an assessed level of generality of the interpreted request, the access point being a highest-ranked retrieval option in the set of retrieval options for a first case in which the interpreted request does not specify a particular retrieval option, the access point being the particular retrieval option for a second case in which the interpreted request specifies the particular retrieval option; and commence a search for said one or more source components starting at the access point; and an item retrieval component configured to, in response to the search, retrieve the desired content item from at least one identified source component and to send the desired content item to a target component. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
15. A method, implemented by one or more computing devices, for retrieving a desired content item, comprising:
-
receiving at least one input message from a user, in which the user expresses an intent to obtain the desired content item; interpreting said at least one input message using a language understanding component of a dialog system, to provide an interpreted request; identifying one or more source components, each of which provides a copy of the desired content item, said identifying involving identifying said one or more source components with reference to a ranked set of retrieval options associated with respective decision blocks of escalation logic, said identifying further involving identifying an access point in the ranked set of retrieval options based on an assessed level of generality of the interpreted request, the access point being a highest-ranked retrieval option in the set of retrieval options for a first case in which the interpreted request does not specify a particular retrieval option, the access point being the particular retrieval option for a second case in which the interpreted request specifies the particular retrieval option; commencing a search for said one or more source components from the access point, the method encompassing a case in which said commencing results in not performing at least one retrieval option in the set of retrieval options; and in response to the search, retrieving the desired content item from at least one identified source component and sending the desired content item to a target component.
-
-
16. A computer-readable storage medium for storing computer-readable instructions, the computer-readable instructions, when executed by one or more processor devices, performing a method that comprises:
-
receiving at least one input message from a first user, in which the first user expresses an intent to obtain a desired content item; interpreting said at least one input message using a language understanding component of a dialog system, to provide an interpreted request; identifying one or more source components, each of which provides a copy of the desired content item, said identifying involving identifying said one or more source components with reference to a ranked set of retrieval options associated with respective decision blocks provided by escalation logic; and retrieving the desired content item from at least one identified source component and sending the desired content item to a target component, the ranked set of retrieval options including; a first option that seeks to retrieve the desired content item from a local store associated with a first user computing device with which the first user is currently interacting; a second option that seeks to retrieve the desired content item from another user computing device controlled the first user, besides the first user computing device; and a third option that seeks to retrieve the desired content item from a user computing device controlled by a second user, the second user being a contact of the first user, the computer-readable instructions being configured to commence a search for said one or more search components using the first option when the interpreted request does not specify a particular retrieval option, commence the search using the second option when the interpreted request specifies the other user computing device controlled by the first user, and commence the search using the third option when the interpreted request specifies the user computing device controlled by the second user.
-
Specification