NLP Timer Setting for Group Communication Time Awareness

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current online group communication networks lack effective methods to track and manage time when participants momentarily leave or step away, leading to challenges in maintaining accurate time awareness and coordination among participants.

Innovation Solution

Implementing a natural language processing module to detect temporal commitments in participant communications, converting speech or text into text, and using a timer manager to set timers based on expressed time commitments, allowing participants to track and manage time effectively by propagating timer information across the network.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Extent of automation

If manual time tracking methods are used in group communication sessions, then participants can manually set timers, but the system cannot automatically track and manage time when participants leave or step away

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveautomatic time trackingVSAvoidtime awareness

Core Design Contradiction:

Extent of automationVSLoss of information

Solution Approach 1:

The system automatically detects temporal commitments from participant communications and sets timers without requiring manual intervention. The natural language processing module extracts time-related information from chat messages or speech, and the timer manager automatically creates and manages timers, allowing the system to serve itself in tracking time rather than requiring participants to manually track it.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #25Self-service

Solution Approach 2:

The patent replaces manual time tracking mechanisms with an automated natural language processing system. Instead of participants manually noting down time commitments or setting timers, the system uses NLP to automatically detect temporal expressions in communications and converts them into structured timer data, substituting mechanical manual tracking with intelligent automated processing.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #28Mechanics substitution (Replace mechanical system)

2Productivity

If natural language processing is implemented to detect temporal commitments, then automatic timer setting is achieved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetime management efficiencyVSAvoidsystem architecture

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system is divided into distinct functional modules: a natural language processing module that detects and processes temporal commitments from communications, and a timer manager that receives processed data and sets timers. This segmentation allows each module to specialize in specific tasks, improving overall efficiency while managing complexity through modular design where each component has a clear, limited responsibility.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The natural language processing module acts as an intermediary between participant communications and the timer manager. It translates unstructured temporal expressions from chat or speech into structured data that the timer manager can process, bridging the gap between natural language input and automated timer setting without requiring direct complex integration between communication detection and timer management.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

3Measurement precision

If timers are automatically set based on natural language processing, then time tracking accuracy improves, but processing time increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvetime commitment detection accuracyVSAvoidprocessing delay

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSLoss of time

Solution Approach 1:

The natural language processing module continuously monitors and processes communications in real-time during group sessions, detecting temporal commitments as they are expressed. By performing preliminary processing of communications as they occur rather than analyzing them afterward, the system maintains accurate time tracking without significant delays, as the NLP processing happens concurrently with the communication flow.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS11563781B2Setting timers based on processing of group communications using natural language processing

Publication Date: 2023.01.24 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINE CORPORATION

AI summary

Provided are a computer program product, system, and method for setting timers based on processing of communications using natural language processing. A communication is detected from a communicating participant transmitted within a group communication session implemented in a computer network in which the communicating participant is communicating with an additional participant through the group communication session. A natural language processor (NLP) module processes the detected communication to determine words comprising an expressed temporal commitment of the communicating participant. The expressed temporal commitment does not express a computer implemented command verb to perform an operation related to setting a time variable. A timer is set, in a computer user interface of the additional participant, to a time value based on the expressed temporal commitment in the detected communication.