Statechart Generation from Frames for Dialog Verification
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Current frame-based dialog management techniques, such as VoiceXML 2.0, rely on built-in algorithms for interpreting frames, making it difficult to verify and debug dialog flows and limiting their applicability to specific types of dialogs, as they omit process control logic and require designers to work within constraints.
Innovation Solution
Automatic generation of Statecharts from frames by extracting data models and goals, and annotating them with procedural logic, allowing for the creation of semantic representations that combine frame-based and Statechart-based dialog specifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If frame-based techniques are used for dialog specification, then dialog can be represented in compact format, but process control logic is omitted making verification and debugging difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary transformation layer that converts frame-based dialog specifications into Statechart representations. This mediator automatically generates Statecharts from frames, providing visual state transition diagrams that enable verification and debugging while preserving the compactness of frame-based specifications. The Statechart generator acts as a bridge between the declarative frame format and the need for explicit control logic visualization.
2Device complexity
If frame-based techniques are used, then dialog designers can create complex dialogs compactly, but designers must struggle against framework constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the dialog specification into two independent parts: the declarative frame structure (maintaining compactness) and the procedural control logic (providing flexibility). By separating these concerns and allowing independent manipulation of each, designers can create complex dialogs in compact format while having full freedom in controlling the dialog flow through Statechart-level operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The Statechart generator serves as an intermediary that translates frame-based specifications into Statechart representations, enabling designers to work with the flexibility of Statechart control logic while maintaining the compactness of frame-based declarations. This intermediary layer abstracts away framework constraints.
3Ease of manufacture
If built-in algorithms are used for interpreting frames, then frame-based dialog management is enabled, but applicability is limited to specific types of dialogs
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates a universal framework that can handle multiple dialog types by transforming them into a common Statechart representation. The Statechart generator can process different frame-based dialog specifications (forms, menus, etc.) and convert them into unified Statechart models, enabling the same underlying mechanism to manage diverse dialog types without requiring type-specific built-in algorithms.
Data Source
AI summary
A Statechart for management of an interaction is generated automatically from a frame that describes the interaction by extracting a data model and a set of goals from frame and then generating a Statechart from the data model and the set of goals. The data model includes a set of data fields to be completed during the interaction Procedural logic is extracted from the frame and used to annotate the Statechart with, for example, initial and final rules, prompts and grammar. The Statechart may be stored for future use or editing, or used to manage a current interaction.