Methods and apparatus object-oriented rule-based dialogue management
First Claim
1. A method for use in a processing system for managing a dialogue between the system and a user, the method comprising the steps of:
- receiving an input signal representing one of speech and text associated with at least a portion of the dialogue;
processing a set of frames characterizing a subject of the dialogue, associated with the input signal, each frame including one or more properties that describe a corresponding object which may be referenced during the dialogue, wherein a weight is assigned to each of at least a subset of the properties represented by the set of frames, such that the assigned weights indicate the relative importance of the corresponding properties;
utilizing the weights to determine which of a plurality of possible responses the system should generate for a given user input during the dialogue; and
generating an output signal for sensory perception by the user representing at least one of the plurality of possible responses.
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Abstract
An object-oriented dialogue manager is provided which allows a computer system or other dialogue processing system to conduct an efficient dialogue with a human user. In an illustrative embodiment, the dialogue manager processes a set of frames characterizing a subject of the dialogue, where each frame includes one or more properties that describe an object which may be referenced during the dialogue. A weight is assigned to each of the properties represented by the set of frames, such that the assigned weights indicate the relative importance of the corresponding properties. The dialogue manager utilizes the weights to determine which of a number of possible responses the system should generate based on a given user input received during the dialogue. The dialogue manager serves as an interface between the user and an application which is ruining on the system and defines the set of frames. The dialogue manager supplies user requests to the application, and processes the resulting responses received from the application. The dialogue manager uses the property weights to determine, for example, an appropriate question to ask the user in order to resolve ambiguities that may arise in execution of a user request in the application.
462 Citations
27 Claims
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1. A method for use in a processing system for managing a dialogue between the system and a user, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving an input signal representing one of speech and text associated with at least a portion of the dialogue; processing a set of frames characterizing a subject of the dialogue, associated with the input signal, each frame including one or more properties that describe a corresponding object which may be referenced during the dialogue, wherein a weight is assigned to each of at least a subset of the properties represented by the set of frames, such that the assigned weights indicate the relative importance of the corresponding properties; utilizing the weights to determine which of a plurality of possible responses the system should generate for a given user input during the dialogue; and generating an output signal for sensory perception by the user representing at least one of the plurality of possible responses. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. An apparatus for use in a processing system for managing a dialogue between the system and a user, the apparatus comprising:
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an input device for processing an input signal representing one of speech and text associated with at least a portion of the dialogue; a memory coupled to the input device for storing a set of frames characterizing a subject of the dialogue, associated with the input signal, each frame including one or more properties that describe a corresponding object which may be referenced during the dialogue, wherein a weight is assigned to each of at least a subset of the properties represented by the set of frames, such that the assigned weights indicate the relative importance of the corresponding properties; a processor coupled to the input device and the memory for processing the set of frames and utilizing the weights to determine which of a plurality of possible responses the system should generate for a given user input during the dialogue; and an output device coupled to the processor and the memory for generating an output signal for sensory perception by the user representing at least one of the plurality of possible responses. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for use in a processing system for managing a dialogue between the system and a user, the method comprising the steps of:
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processing a set of frames characterizing a subject of the dialogue, in response to receipt of an input signal representing one of speech and text associated with at least a portion of the dialogue, each frame including one or more properties that describe a corresponding object which may be referenced during the dialogue, wherein a weight is assigned to each of at least a subset of the properties represented by the set of frames, such that the assigned weights indicate the relative importance of the corresponding properties; and utilizing the weights to determine which of a plurality of possible responses the system should generate in the form of an output signal for sensory perception by the user representing at least one of the plurality of possible responses for a given user input during the dialogue.
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27. An article of manufacture for use in a processing system for managing a dialogue between the system and a user, comprising a machine readable medium containing one or more programs which when executed implement the steps of:
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processing a set of frames characterizing a subject of the dialogue, in response to receipt of an input signal representing one of speech and text associated with at least a portion of the dialogue, each frame including one or more properties that describe a corresponding object which may be referenced during the dialogue, wherein a weight is assigned to each of at least a subset of the properties represented by the set of frames, such that the assigned weights indicate the relative importance of the corresponding properties; and utilizing the weights to determine which of a plurality of possible responses the system should generate for a given user input during the dialogue.
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Specification