Domain-Level Reasoning for Spoken Dialogue Systems [Paperback]

Reasoning for Information: Seeking and Planning Dialogues provides a logic-based reasoning component for spoken language dialogue systems. This component, called Problem Assistant is responsible for processing constraints on a possible solution obtained from various sources, namely user and the system's domain-specific information.The authors also present findings on the implementation of a dialogue management interface to the Problem Assistant. The dialogue system supports simple mixed-initiative planning interactions in the TRAINS domain, which is still a relatively complex domain involving a number of logical constraints and relations forming the basis for the collaborative problem-solving behavior that drives the dialogue.

This volume provides a logic-based reasoning component for spoken language dialogue systems. The text describes late-breaking research on next-generation spoken dialogue systems and investigates how to improve them.

1: Introduction.- 2: Fundamentals of Dialogue Systems.- 3: FirstOrder Logic.- 4: LogicBased Domain Modelling.- 5: Interactive Model Generation.- 6: A Prototype Based on VoiceXML.- 7: Information StateBased Dialogue Management.- 8: Revised Prototype and System Architecture.- 9: Conclusions and Future Directions

Dirk B?hler holds a Ph.D. and MSc in Computer Science from the University of Ulm and University of T?bingen (Germany), respectively. His research interests concern the development and evaluation of user interfaces, including dialogue modelling and multimodality, domain modelling, knowledge representation, and automated reasoning. He worked at DaimlerChrysler, Research and Technology, Germany, from 2000 to 2002. He is now with SVOX Ulm (Germany).

Wolfgang Minker is a fulltime Professor at the University of Ulm, Institute for Information Technology (Germany). He received his Ph.D. in Engineering Science from the University of Karlsruhe (Germanl3.