Formalising control in robust spoken dialogue systems

The spoken language interface is now becoming an in-creasingly serious research topic with application to a wide range of highly engineered systems. Such systems not only include innocuous human-computer interactions, but also encompass shared-control safety critical devices such as automotive vehicles and robotic systems. Spoken Dialogue Systems (SDS) are the language architecture used to provide linguistic interaction in these applications, but they have to date been notoriously difficult to engineer in a robust and safe manner. In this paper we report on our efforts to im-prove the safety and overall usability of dialogue enabled applications through the employment of formal methods in SDS development and testing. Specifically, we use Commu-nicating Sequential Processes (CSP) as the basis of a new approach to the specification, design and verification of dia-logue manager control. Moreover, to support this approach, we introduce FDMSC – the Formal Dialogue Management for Shared Control toolkit – and illustrate its use in the con-struction of formal methods based spoken dialogue systems. 1

Reasoning about order errors in interaction

Reliability of an interactive system depends on users as well as the device implementation. User errors can result in catastrophic system failure. However, work from the field of cognitive science shows that systems can be designed so as to completely eliminate whole classes of user errors. This means that user errors should also fall within the remit of verification methods. In this paper we demonstrate how the HOL theorem prover [7] can be used to detect and prove the absence of the family of errors known as order errors. This is done by taking account of the goals and knowledge of users. We provide an explicit generic user model which embodies theory from the cognitive sciences about the way people are known to act. The user model describes action based on user communication goals. These are goals that a user adopts based on their knowledge of the task they must perform to achieve their goals. We use a simple example of a vending machine to demonstrate the approach. We prove that a user does achieve their goal for a particular design of machine. In doing so we demonstrate that communication goal based errors cannot occur

Overview on agent-based social modelling and the use of formal languages

Transdisciplinary Models and Applications investigates a variety of programming languages used in validating and verifying models in order to assist in their eventual implementation. This book will explore different methods of evaluating and formalizing simulation models, enabling computer and industrial engineers, mathematicians, and students working with computer simulations to thoroughly understand the progression from simulation to product, improving the overall effectiveness of modeling systems.Postprint (author's final draft

ISML: an interface specification meta-language

In this paper we present an abstract metaphor model situated within a model-based user interface framework. The inclusion of metaphors in graphical user interfaces is a well established, but mostly craft-based strategy to design. A substantial body of notations and tools can be found within the model-based user interface design literature, however an explicit treatment of metaphor and its mappings to other design views has yet to be addressed. We introduce the Interface Specification Meta-Language (ISML) framework and demonstrate its use in comparing the semantic and syntactic features of an interactive system. Challenges facing this research are outlined and further work proposed

Cyber-Virtual Systems: Simulation, Validation & Visualization

We describe our ongoing work and view on simulation, validation and visualization of cyber-physical systems in industrial automation during development, operation and maintenance. System models may represent an existing physical part - for example an existing robot installation - and a software simulated part - for example a possible future extension. We call such systems cyber-virtual systems. In this paper, we present the existing VITELab infrastructure for visualization tasks in industrial automation. The new methodology for simulation and validation motivated in this paper integrates this infrastructure. We are targeting scenarios, where industrial sites which may be in remote locations are modeled and visualized from different sites anywhere in the world. Complementing the visualization work, here, we are also concentrating on software modeling challenges related to cyber-virtual systems and simulation, testing, validation and verification techniques for them. Software models of industrial sites require behavioural models of the components of the industrial sites such as models for tools, robots, workpieces and other machinery as well as communication and sensor facilities. Furthermore, collaboration between sites is an important goal of our work.Comment: Preprint, 9th International Conference on Evaluation of Novel Approaches to Software Engineering (ENASE 2014

Developing a distributed electronic health-record store for India

The DIGHT project is addressing the problem of building a scalable and highly available information store for the Electronic Health Records (EHRs) of the over one billion citizens of India