research about dialogue and dialogue systems and the department of linguistics

• goal:– develop theories about human dialogue

which can be used when building dialogue systems

– explore the use of dialogue systems as interfaces to applications and services

• Some projects– TRINDI: Task-Oriented and Instructional Dialogue– SIRIDUS: Specification, Interaction and

Reconfiguration in Dialogue Understanding Systems– D´Homme: Dialogues in the Home Environment

From menu to dialogue

Staffan LarssonInstitutionen för lingvistik

Göteborgs Universitet

Background

• Many applications and services have menu-based interfaces– mobile phone– video– computer– automatic cinema ticket booking via phone

• But menus have certain disadvantages• Dialogue systems provide more user-

friendly interfaces

Overview

• GoDiS: a dialogue system• Meny vs. dialogue• Menu components• Dialogue plans• Converting menus to dialogue plans• Examples

GoDiS: a dialogue system

• dialogue manager – implemented using the information

state approach– based on a theory about dialogue

based on ”Questions Under Discussion” and dialogue plans

– allows flexible dialogue

GoDiS architecture

• modules:– speech recogniser– language interpreter

– dialogue manager– language generator– speech synthesis

• Information state• resources

– lexicon, database, domain knowledge

inputinter-pret

Information State

lexicon

control

update selectgene-rate

output

data-base

domain

Typical human-computer dialogin a travel agency

S: Hello, how can I help you?U: I want price information pleaseS: Where do you want to go?U: ParisS: How do you want to travel?U: A flight pleaseS: When do you want to travelU: AprilS: what class did you have in mind?…S: The price is $123

Typical human-human dialogue

S(alesman), C(ustomer)S: hiC: flights to ParisS: when do you want to travel?C: April, as cheap as possible...

Flexible dialogue with GoDiS in the travel agency domain

• answering question which have not yet been asked, but which are relevant to some task– S: when do you want to travel?– U: in April, as cheap as possible

• providing information without specified task– S: hello– U: flights to Paris

Menus vs. dialogue:Drawbacks of menus

• User must follow predesigned menu structure

• this structure may be complicated and difficult to learn

• menus allow only one activity at a time

Menu vs. dialogue:Advantages of flexible dialogue

• provide information in any order• provide information without pre-

specifying the task • doing several things at once• not necessary to learn menu

structure

Menu components

• multiple-choice list– the user selects one of several prespecified

choices

• dialogue window– user types requested information

• tickbox– user ticks box (or not)

• system message– information from system; user clicks ”OK”

Sample menu from a Noka 3210

• search phonebook– dialogue window to type in name

• Name: _______

– message showing the number• Kalle 031 12 34 56

– tickbox: whether to call this person• Call

– if a call is made, a message:• Calling 031 12 34 56

Dialogue plans

• dialogue plans are partial specifications of how the system should act in a dialogue– action sequences, conditions etc

• Actions:– find the answer to a question– answer a question– inform – search database– domain-specific actions, e.g. phone up

number

Questions

• yes/no-question– ” Do you want to call NN?”

• wh-question: who, what, which....– ”Who do you want to search for?”

• alternative-question– ”Do you want to search, add to, erase

from or change the phonebook?”

Converting from menu to dialogue plan

Menu Planmulti-choice list alternative

question

tickbox yes/no-question

dialogue window wh-question

message inform

the menu again

• search phonebook– dialogue window to type in name– message showing the number– tickbox: whether to call this person– if a call is made, a message

corresponding plan

1 question: what name? 2 search database for NUMBER matching

the name3 answer: the number is (NUMBER)4 ask: do you want to call?5 if yes then

call up number:NUMBERinform: calling NAMN

another plan: assign ringing tone

1 ask: what name? 2 ask: which ringing tone?3 assign the ringing tone to the name4 inform: the ringing tone for (NAME) is no

(RINGING TONE)

Example 1: standard menu navigation

• U:Go to the phonebook• S: Phonebook. Do you want to search, add, or

remove an entry, or assign a ringing tone? • U: Assign ringing tone• S: What name?• U: John• S: Which ringin tone?• U: Bossanova• S: The ringing tone for John is now Bossanova.

Example 2: providing information which has not

been asked for• U: Assign ringing tone• S: What name?• U: Bossanova for John• S: The ringing tone for John is now

Bossanova.

Example 3: provide information without

assigning task(I)

• U: Bossanova for John• S: The ringing tone for John is now

Bossanova.

Example 4: provide information without assigning task (II)

• U: 5 o’clock• S: Do you want to set the clock or

the alarm clock? • U: alarm clock• S: the alarm clock is now set to 5

Example 5 (video): system requests missing information• U: record from 19:30 to 20:00

today• S: What channel?• U: Seven• S: OK, I will record channel 7 from

19:30 to 20:00 today.

Demo

• GoDiS has been adapted to several domains, including– travel agency– mobile phone interface (course project)– interface to intellegent house– cinema ticket booking (MA thesis)– internet search (MA thesis)– telephone receptionist

• We will give a demo of the mobile phone interface

demo

• GoDiS i resebyrådomänen• 14.30-15.00• F317

Dialogplaner

• handling: A

• handlingssekvens: A1,A2,..., An

• villkorssatser: – if_then(P,C)

• P är ett villkor• Om P är uppfyllt, gör C