Systems and methods for pairing of a semantic network and a natural language processing information extraction system

• US 8,442,940 B1
• Filed: 11/18/2009
• Issued: 05/14/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 11/18/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Semantic AI, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Semantic Research, Inc. (ESW Capital, LLC)
• Inventors: Faletti, Joseph, Murphy, Timothy Andrew, Stockley, Hilary Anne, Wells, Harold Jason
• Primary Examiner(s): Neway, Samuel G
• Application Number:
  US12/621,478
• Time in Patent Office: 1,273 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 707/610
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 16/367 Ontology
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/30 Semantic analysis
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 40/40 Processing or translation of natural language natural language analysis G06F40/20; semantic analysis G06F40/30

Abstract

Systems and methods for coupling a semantic network editing tool and a natural language processing (NLP) system are disclosed. In one embodiment, a network editing tool includes or is connected to an application module configured to facilitate queries to the NLP system and extraction of data from a collection of document by the NLP system for integration of contents with the semantic network.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method for processing natural language information in conjunction with a natural language processing (NLP) system, comprising:

providing a user interface in communication with a semantic network editing tool disposed to facilitate processing of information in the NLP system from a collection of documents stored in a document repository so as to provide a set of processed information wherein the set of processed information includes entities and relationships between the entities, the entities and relationships labeled with a first ontology of the NLP system, the first ontology including entity types and relation types assigned to the processed entities and relationships in the set of processed information;

mapping, using the semantic network editing tool, the entity types and relation types of the first ontology of the NLP system to element types and relation types, respectively, of a second ontology of a semantic network, the first ontology being different from the second ontology; and

responsive to a user input provided at the user interface, extracting portions of the set of processed_information for use in the semantic network, wherein the extracting comprises transforming the portions of the set of processed information from the entity types and relation types of the first ontology of the NLP system into the element types and relation types, respectively, of the second ontology of the semantic network thereby enabling the transformed portions of the set of processed information to be displayed as triplets by the user interface.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the mapping includes sharing data describing the second ontology of the semantic network and the first ontology of the NLP system.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the mapping includes sharing data describing contents of the semantic network and the NLP system.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the second ontology of the semantic network and the first ontology of the NLP system are automatically synchronized responsive to a change in content of either the semantic network or the NLP system.

5. The method of claim 2 wherein the second ontology of the semantic network and the first-ontology of the NLP system are transformed into corresponding formats in response to a user request received at the user interface.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface is incorporated in a user interface of the semantic network editing tool.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface is provided in an application external to the semantic network editing tool.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the user interface is configured to interface with the semantic network editing tool through one or more application programming interfaces (APIs).

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the user interface is configured to provide one or more options for manual selection of one or more documents of the document repository for information processing in conjunction with the NLP system.

10. The method of claim 1 wherein one or more documents of the document repository are selected automatically for processing in conjunction with the NLP system in response to a user request received at the user interface.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the mapping includes automatic conversion of one or more NLP extractors into the element types of the second ontology and corresponding templates.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the mapping includes automatically converting one or more of the element types and relation types of the second ontology into NLP extractor definitions disposed to begin training.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the NLP system includes a functionality of entity recognition and entity type assignment, and further wherein the document repository is provided by a wiki that includes the ability to receive a request for any pages containing word sequences and provide corresponding response data.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the wiki includes the ability to receive a request for a list of categories or types for any pages found responsive to the page request and provide corresponding response data.

15. The method of claim 1 further comprising providing a second user interface configured to graphically display information in the semantic network responsive to said extracting.

16. A non-transitory machine readable medium including executable instructions for execution on a processor to:

provide a user interface in communication with a semantic network editing tool disposed to facilitate processing of information in an NLP system from a collection of documents stored in a document repository so as to provide a set of processed information wherein the set of processed information includes entities and relationships between the entities, the entities and relationships labeled with a first ontology of the NLP system, the first ontology including entity types and relation types assigned to the processed entities and relationships in the set of processed information;

map, using the semantic network editing tool, the entity types and relation types of the first ontology of the NLP system to element types and relation types, respectively, of a second ontology of a semantic network, the first ontology being different from the second ontology; and

responsive to a user input provided at the user interface, extract portions of the set of processed information for use in the semantic network, wherein the portions of the set of processed information are extracted by transforming the portions of the set of processed information from the entity types and relation types of the first ontology of the NLP system into the element types and relation types, respectively, of the second ontology of the semantic network, thereby enabling the transformed portions of the set of processed information to be displayed as triplets by the user interface.

17. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions for mapping include instructions for sharing data describing the second ontology of the semantic network and the first ontology of the NLP system.

18. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions for mapping include instructions for sharing data describing contents of the semantic network and the NLP system.

19. The medium of claim 17 wherein the instructions include instructions for automatically synchronizing the second ontology of the semantic network and the first ontology of the NLP system responsive to a change in content of either the semantic network or the NLP system.

20. The medium of claim 17 wherein the instructions include instructions for transforming the second ontology of the semantic network and the first ontology of the NLP system into corresponding formats in response to a user request received at the user interface.

21. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions include instructions for incorporating the user interface into a user interface of the semantic network editing tool.

22. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions include instructions to provide the user interface in an application external to the semantic network editing tool.

23. The medium of claim 22 wherein the instructions include instructions to interface the user interface with the semantic network editing tool through one or more application programming interfaces (APIs).

24. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions include instructions to provide, in the user interface, one or more options for manual selection of one or more documents of the document repository for information processing.

25. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions include instructions to automatically select one or more documents of the document repository for processing in conjunction with the NLP system in response to a user request received at the user interface.

26. The medium of claim 16 wherein instructions for mapping include instructions for automatic conversion of one or more NLP extractors into the element types of the second ontology and corresponding templates.

27. The medium of claim 16 wherein the instructions for mapping include instructions for automatically converting one or more of the element types and relation types of the second ontology into NLP extractor definitions disposed to begin training.

28. The medium of claim 16 wherein the NLP system includes a functionality of entity recognition and entity type assignment, and further wherein the document repository provided by a wiki that includes the ability to receive a request for any pages containing word sequences and provide corresponding response data.

29. The medium of claim 28 wherein the wiki includes the ability to receive a request for a list of categories or types for any pages found responsive to the page request and provide corresponding response data.

30. The medium of claim 16 further comprising instructions for providing a second user interface configured to graphically display information in the semantic network responsive to said extracting.

31. A system for processing natural language information, comprising:

a processor;

a memory; and

a semantic network editing tool, said semantic network editing tool including one or more modules disposed to be communicatively coupled with an NLP system and a document repository to facilitate extraction of portions of a set of processed information for use in a semantic network disposed to be edited with the semantic network editing tool, wherein;

the set of processed information includes entities and relationships between the entities, the entities and relationships labeled with a first ontology of the NLP system, the first ontology including entity types and relation types assigned to the processed entities and relationships in the set of processed information,

the semantic network editing tool maps the entity types and relation types of the first ontology of the NLP system to element types and relation types, respectively, of a second ontology of the semantic network, the first ontology being different from the second ontology,

the extraction comprises a transformation of the portions of the set of processed information from the entity types and relation types of the first ontology of the NLP system into the element types and relation types, respectively, of the second ontology of the semantic network, thereby enabling the transformed portions of the set of processed information to be displayed as triplets by a user interface.

32. The system of claim 31 further comprising the document repository.

33. The system of claim 31 further comprising the NLP system.

34. The system of claim 31 further comprising the document repository and the NLP system.