An intelligent electronic appliance preferably includes a user interface, data input and/or output port, and an intelligent processor. A preferred embodiment comprises a set top box for interacting with broadband media streams, with an adaptive user interface, content-based media processing and/or media metadata processing, and telecommunications integration. An adaptive user interface models the user, by observation, feedback, and/or explicit input, and presents a user interface and/or executes functions based on the user model. A content-based media processing system analyzes media content, for example audio and video, to understand the content, for example to generate content-descriptive metadata. A media metadata processing system operates on locally or remotely generated metadata to process the media in accordance with the metadata, which may be, for example, an electronic program guide, MPEG 7 data, and/or automatically generated format. A set top box preferably includes digital trick play effects, and incorporated digital rights management features.

Intelligent electronic appliance system and method

An adaptive interface for a programmable system, for predicting a desired user function, based on user history, as well as machine internal status and context. The apparatus receives an input from the user and other data. A predicted input is presented for confirmation by the user, and the predictive mechanism is updated based on this feedback. Also provided is a pattern recognition system for a multimedia device, wherein a user input is matched to a video stream on a conceptual basis, allowing inexact programming of a multimedia device. The system analyzes a data stream for correspondence with a data pattern for processing and storage. The data stream is subjected to adaptive pattern recognition to extract features of interest to provide a highly compressed representation which may be efficiently processed to determine correspondence. Applications of the interface and system include a VCR, medical device, vehicle control system, audio device, environmental control system, securities trading terminal, and smart house. The system optionally includes an actuator for effecting the environment of operation, allowing closed-loop feedback operation and automated learning.

Ergonomic man-machine interface incorporating adaptive pattern recognition based control system

An intelligent automated assistant system engages with the user in an integrated, conversational manner using natural language dialog, and invokes external services when appropriate to obtain information or perform various actions. The system can be implemented using any of a number of different platforms, such as the web, email, smartphone, and the like, or any combination thereof. In one embodiment, the system is based on sets of interrelated domains and tasks, and employs additional functionally powered by external services with which the system can interact.

Intelligent Automated Assistant

Database management systems will continue to manage large data volumes. Thus, efficient algorithms for accessing and manipulating large sets and sequences will be required to provide acceptable performance. The advent of object-oriented and extensible database systems will not solve this problem. On the contrary, modern data models exacerbate the problem: In order to manipulate large sets of complex objects as efficiently as today's database systems manipulate simple records, query-processing algorithms and software will become more complex, and a solid understanding of algorithm and architectural issues is essential for the designer of database management software. This survey provides a foundation for the design and implementation of query execution facilities in new database management systems. It describes a wide array of practical query evaluation techniques for both relational and postrelational database systems, including iterative execution of complex query evaluation plans, the duality of sort- and hash-based set-matching algorithms, types of parallel query execution and their implementation, and special operators for emerging database application domains.

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Query evaluation techniques for large databases

Negotiation as a Metaphor for Distributed Problem Solving

Aspects of an intelligent interface that provides natural language access to a large body of data distributed over a computer network are described. The overall system architecture is presented, showing how a user is buffered from the actual database management systems (DBMSs) by three layers of insulating components. These layers operate in series to convert natural language queries into calls to DBMSs at remote sites. Attention is then focused on the first of the insulating components, the natural language system. A pragmatic approach to language access that has proved useful for building interfaces to databases is described and illustrated by examples. Special language features that increase system usability, such as spelling correction, processing of incomplete inputs, and run-time system personalization, are also discussed. The language system is contrasted with other work in applied natural language processing, and the system's limitations are analyzed.

Developing a natural language interface to complex data

A Team User's Guide

A knowledge base processor is callable by an application program to access a knowledge base and to govern the execution or interpretation of the knowledge base to find the values of selected objects or expressions defined in the knowledge base. The application program is written in a conventional computer language which specifies control by the ordering of program steps. The application program provides a user interface for input/output and provides top level control for calling the knowledge base processor to find values for goal expressions. During its search for the values of goal expressions, the knowledge base processor calls the application program to determine values of expressions which are not concluded by the knowledge base, and to signal important events during the execution of the knowledge base. Preferably the knowledge base processor and the application program each include a library of subroutines which are linked-loaded to provide a complete knowledge system for a specific application or task. Therefore, the knowledge base processor provides the esential functions for symbolic reasoning, and establishes a framework for building the knowledge system which permits application program developers to exploit the best available conventional data processing capabilities. The application programmer is free to exercise his or her knowledge and skill regarding the use of conventional programming languages and their support facilities such as utility libraries, optimizing compliers and user interfaces.

Knowledge based processor for application programs using conventional data processing capabilities

Authors' Present Addresses: Kyu-Young Whang and Gio Wiederbold, Computer Systems Laboratory, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305; and Daniel Sagalowicz, Artificial Intelligence Center, SRI International, Menlo Park, CA 94025. This work was supported by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency under the KBMS Project, Contract N39-80-G-0132. Permission to copy without fee all or part of this material is granted provided that the copies are not made or distributed for direct commercial advantage, the ACM copyright notice and the title of the publication and its date appear, and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Association for Computing Machinery. To copy otherwise, or to republish, requires a fee and/or specific permission. © 1983 ACM 0001-0782/83/1100-0940 75¢ 1. I N T R O D U C T I O N In eva lua t ing the access cost o f a q u e r y for a da tabase organiza t ion in w h i c h records are g rouped into b locks in s e c o n d a r y storage [16], one m u s t o f ten es t ima te t he n u m b e r of b lock assesses r equ i r ed to re t r ieve t h e records se lec ted by t h e query . Var ious fo rmulas h a v e b e e n p roposed for this pu rpose [2, 3, 8-13, 17, 19]. In part icular , Yao [17] p r e s e n t e d the following theo rem: 1

Estimating block accesses in database organizations: a closed noniterative formula

: D-LADDER (DIAMOND-based Language Access to Distributed Data with Error Recovery) is a computer system designed to provide answers to questions posed at the terminal in a subset of natural language regarding a distributed data base of naval command and control information. The system accepts natural-language questions about the data. For each question D-LADDER plans a sequence of appropriate queries to the data base management system, determines on which machines the queries are to be processed, establishes links to those machines over the ARPANET, monitors the processing of the queries and recovers from certain errors in execution, and prepares a relevant answer to the original question. This user's guide is intended for the person who knows how to log in to the host operating system, as well as how to enter and edit a line of text. It does not explain how D-LADDER works, but rather how to use it on a demonstration basis.

Daniel Sagalowicz

Papers

Developing a natural language interface to complex data

A Team User's Guide

Knowledge based processor for application programs using conventional data processing capabilities

Estimating block accesses in database organizations: a closed noniterative formula

A D-Ladder User's Guide