Linköping 2001Domain Knowledge Management in Information-providing Dialogue Systems

In this thesis a new concept called domain knowledge management for informationproviding dialogue systems is introduced. Domain knowledge management includes issues related to representation and use of domain knowledge as well as access of background information sources, issues that previously have been incorporated in dialogue management. The work on domain knowledge management reported in this thesis can be divided in two parts. On a general theoretical level, knowledge sources and models used for dialogue management, including domain knowledge management, are studied and related to the capabilities they support. On a more practical level, domain knowledge management is examined in the contexts of a dialogue system framework and a specific instance of this framework, the ÖTRAF system. In this system domain knowledge management is implemented in a separate module, a Domain Knowledge Manager. The use of a specialised Domain Knowledge Manager has a number of advantages. The first is that dialogue management becomes more focused as it only has to consider dialogue phenomena, while domain-specific reasoning is handled by the Domain Knowledge Manager. Secondly, porting of a system to new domains is facilitated since domain-related issues are separated out in specialised domain knowledge sources. The third advantage with a separate module for domain knowledge management is that domain knowledge sources can be easily modified, exchanged, and reused

Development Methods for a Social Conversational Agent in a Virtual Learning Environment with an Educational Math Game

We are developing a virtual learning environment, which includes a math game with a teachable agent, the embodiment of the agent, and a social conversation with the agent. In this work we are using various methods for design and system development, with a focus on iterative methods, and high involvement of the user in the process. In this paper we discuss the motivation for and the applications of these methods in the development of the social conversation with the agent.K2D

A Survey of Knowledge Sources in Dialogue Systems

Dialogue systems utilise a variety of knowledge sources and models. However, there is a confusion concerning the purposes and contributions of specific models and the relationships among them. In this paper we present a study of different dialogue systems and the knowledge sources and models they use. The models are characterised in terms of what knowledge they contain and the roles of various models and the relations between them are discussed. Implications for development of dialogue systems are also presented. 1 Introduction Today much research is carried out within the area of natural language interfaces and dialogue systems, and more and more systems are becoming publicly available. Most of the systems provide information retrieval services or assistance in solving a specific task. The systems differ in complexity due to the domain and the approach taken in the design. Some systems are very knowledge intensive and contain several interacting knowledge sources and mode..

Domain Knowledge Management in Information-providing Dialogue Systems

In this thesis a new concept called domain knowledge management for informationproviding dialogue systems is introduced. Domain knowledge management includes issues related to representation and use of domain knowledge as well as access of background information sources, issues that previously have been incorporated in dialogue management. The work on domain knowledge management reported in this thesis can be divided in two parts. On a general theoretical level, knowledge sources and models used for dialogue management, including domain knowledge management, are studied and related to the capabilities they support. On a more practical level, domain knowledge management is examined in the contexts of a dialogue system framework and a specific instance of this framework, the ÖTRAF system. In this system domain knowledge management is implemented in a separate module, a Domain Knowledge Manager. The use of a specialised Domain Knowledge Manager has a number of advantages. The first is that dialogue management becomes more focused as it only has to consider dialogue phenomena, while domain-specific reasoning is handled by the Domain Knowledge Manager. Secondly, porting of a system to new domains is facilitated since domain-related issues are separated out in specialised domain knowledge sources. The third advantage with a separate module for domain knowledge management is that domain knowledge sources can be easily modified, exchanged, and reused.Report code: LiU-Tek-Lic-2001:27.</p

Design and use of ontologies in information-providing dialogue systems

In this thesis, the design and use of ontologies as domain knowledge sources in information-providing dialogue systems are investigated. The research is divided into two parts, theoretical investigations that have resulted in a requirements specifications on the design of ontologies to be used in information-providing dialogue systems, and empirical work on the development of a framework for use of ontologies in information-providing dialogue systems. The framework includes three models: A model for ontology-based semantic analysis of questions. A model for ontology-based dialogue management, specifically focus management and clarifications. A model for ontology-based domain knowledge management, specifically transformation of user requests to system oriented concepts used for information retrieval. In this thesis, it is shown that using ontologies to represent and reason on domain knowledge in dialogue systems has several advantages. A deeper semantic analysis is possible in several modules and a more natural and efficient dialogue can be achieved. Another important aspect is that it facilitates portability; to be able to reuse adapt the dialogue system to new tasks and domains, since the domain-specific knowledge is separated form generic features in the dialogue system architecture. Other advantages are that it reduces the complexity of linguistic produced in various domains