Author: SRI International

  • Developing A Natural Language Interface To Complex Data

    This paper describes aspects of an intelligence interface that provides natural language access to a large body of data distributed over a computer network. The overall system architecture is presented, showing how a user is buffered from the actual data base management systems (DBMSs) by three layers of insulating components.

  • A Network-Based Knowledge Representation and Its Natural Systems

    We describe a knowledge representation scheme called K-NET and a problem solving system called SNIFFER designed to answer queries using a K-NET knowledge base. K-NET uses a partitioned semantic net to combine the expressive capabilities of the first-order predicate calculus with linkage to procedural knowledge and with full indexing of objects to the relationships in…

  • The Representation and Use Of Focus In Dialogue Understanding

    This report develops a representation of focus of attention that circumscribes discourse contexts within a general representation of knowledge. To formalize the notion of focus, the need for and the use of focus mechanisms are considered from the standpoint of building a computer system that can participate in a natural language dialogue with a user.

  • A Production System For Automatic Deduction

    A new predicate calculus deduction system based on production rules is proposed. The system combines several developments in Artificial Intelligence and Automatic Theorem Proving research including the use of domain-specific inference rules and separate mechanisms for forward and backward reasoning.

  • A Framework For Speech Understanding

    This paper reports the author’s results in designing, implementing, and testing a framework for a speech-understanding system. The work was done as part of a multi-disciplinary effort based on state-of-the-art advances in computational linguistics, artificial intelligence, systems programming, and speech science.

  • The Representation and Use of Focus in a System for Understanding Dialogs

    As a dialog progresses, the objects and actions that are most relevant to the conversation, and hence in the focus of attention of the dialog participants, change. This paper describes a representation of focus for language understanding systems, emphasizing its use in understanding task-oriented dialogs.

  • IDA: An Intelligent Data Access Program

    IDA was developed at SRI to allow a casual user to retrieve information from a data base, knowing the fields present in the data base, but not the structure of the data base itself. IDA is part of a system that allows the user to express queries in a restricted subset of English, about a…

  • Managing Network Access to a Distributed Database

    This paper describes a program, FAM – for File Access Manager –, used to access to data distributed over a computer network. FAM is a part of a system which allows a casual user to express queries in a restricted subset of English, about a database of fourteen files stored redundantly on several Datacomputers.

  • Semantic Network Representation In Rule Based Inference System

    Rule-based inference systems allow judgmental knowledge about a specific problem domain to be represented as a collection of discrete rules. We describe a rule-based system that uses a partitioned semantic network representation for the premises and conclusions.

  • Procedures for Integrating Knowledge in a Speech Understanding System

    This paper describes the procedures for integrating knowledge from different sources in the SRI speech understanding system. The system uses these contextual constraints in assigning priorities to alternative interpretations, combining top-down, bottom-up, and bidirectional strategies as required.

  • Lifer Manual: A Guide To Building Practical Natural Language Interface

    This document describes an application-oriented system for creating natural language interfaces between existing computer programs (such as data base management systems) and casual users. The system is easy to use and flexible, offering a range of capabilities that support both simple and complex interfaces.

  • Human Engineering For Applied Natural Language Processing

    Human engineering features for enhancing the usability of practical natural language systems are described. Such features include spelling correction, processing of incomplete (elliptical) inputs, interrogation of the underlying language definition through English queries, and an ability for casual users to extend the language accepted by the system through the use of synonyms and paraphrases.