System and method for providing a natural language interface to a database

• US 8,412,693 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2011
• Issued: 04/02/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Bampton Technologies, LLC (Intellectual Ventures LLC)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property II LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cox, Richard Vandervoort, Eslambolchi, Hossein, Nadji, Behzad, Rahim, Mazin G.
• Primary Examiner(s): Jami, Hares
• Application Number:
  US13/074,419
• Publication Number:
  US 20110179006A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 707/705, 707/706, 707/708, 707/736, 707/758, 707/999.1, 707/999.3, 704/1, 704/9
• US Class Current: 707/705
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3331 Query processing
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3334 Selection or weighting of terms from queries, including natural language queries
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/3344 using natural language analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/951 Indexing; Web crawling techniques
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/9538 Presentation of query results
• CPC Class Codes: G06N 20/00 Machine learning
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 15/22 Procedures used during a speech recognition process, e.g. man-machine dialogue
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 21/06 Transformation of speech into a non-audible representation, e.g. speech visualisation or speech processing for tactile aids G10L15/26 takes precedence

Abstract

A system and method for providing a natural language interface to a database or the Internet. The method provides a response from a database to a natural language query. The method comprises receiving a user query, extracting key data from the user query, submitting the extracted key data to a data base search engine to retrieve a top n pages from the data base, processing of the top n pages through a natural language dialog engine and providing a response based on processing the top n pages.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

extracting, via a processor, key data from a user query;

submitting the key data to a database search engine to perform a search of a database and to retrieve a top n pages from the database, wherein in response to a restriction to access a restricted page of the top n pages, the processor negotiates an access price and provides data to overcome the restriction independent of a user navigating to the restricted page;

prior to responding to the user query, processing the top n pages via a natural language dialog engine;

providing, at a first time, a response comprising a text-based response and an audible response, based at least in part on the processing;

after providing the response at the first time, continuing, without further user input, to find related information associated with the user query using a machine learning process to expand the search; and

presenting an option to the user, at a second time which is later than the first time, to view the related information separate from the response.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user query is one of a natural language speech query and a text based query.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the key data includes at least one of key words and key phrases.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein submitting the key data to the database search engine further comprises submitting the key data to a plurality of search engines.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the user can select at least one of a text input mode, a speech input mode, and a dialog mode.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein user input is received via a large vocabulary speech recognizer.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the response is a natural language response provided via synthetic speech.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the response is a multimedia response.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the database comprises at least one of the World Wide Web, a multimedia database, a corporate database, and a personal database.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the user query and the response are provided in a dialog mode.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the user interacts with a virtual agent in a dialog mode.

12. A computing device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory having stored therein instructions which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform a method comprising;

extracting key data from a query;

submitting the key data to a database search engine to execute a search of the database to retrieve a top n pages from the database, wherein in response to a restriction to access a restricted page of the top n pages, the processor negotiates an access price and provides data to overcome the restriction independent of a user navigating to the restricted page;

processing, prior to responding to the query, the top n pages via a natural language dialog engine;

providing a response at a first time, the response comprising an audible response and a text-based response based on processing the top n pages, wherein the response displays an option to view additional material related to the query separate from the response; and

after providing the response at the first time, and without further user input, finding, at a second time which is later than the first time, related information using a machine learning process to expand the search.

13. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the database is at least one of the World Wide Web, a multimedia database, a corporate database, and a personal database.

14. The computing device of claims 12, wherein the response is a natural language response provided via synthetic speech.

15. The computing device of claim 12, wherein the query is one of a natural language speech query and a text based query.

16. A computer-readable storage device having stored therein instructions which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform a method comprising:

extracting key data from a query;

submitting the key data to a database search engine to execute a search of the database to retrieve a top n pages from the database, wherein in response to a restriction to access a restricted page of the top n pages, the computing device negotiates an access price and provides data to overcome the restriction independent of a user navigating to the restricted page;

prior to responding to the query, processing the top n pages via a natural language dialog engine;

providing, at a first time, a response comprising an audible response and a text-based response based on the processing of the top n pages, wherein the response displays to the user an option to view related information separate from the provided response; and

after providing the response, continuing, without further user input and at a second time which is later than the first time, to find related information using a machine learning process to expand the search.

17. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the query is received via a large vocabulary speech recognizer.

18. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the user can select a database search engine from a plurality of search engines.

19. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the user can input the query using at least one of a text input mode, a speech input mode, and a dialog mode.

20. The computer-readable storage device of claim 16, wherein the user can select multiple databases to be searched.