Andreas Günter

KI 2003: Advances in Artificial Intelligence

We introduce the notion of symmetric multimodality for dialogue systems in which all input modes (eg. speech, gesture, facial expression) are also available for output, and vice versa. A dialogue system with symmetric multimodality must not only understand and represent the users multimodal input, but also its own multimodal output. We present the SmartKom system, that provides full symmetric multimodality in a mixed-initiative dialogue system with an embodied conversational agent. SmartKom represents a new generation of multimodal dialogue systems, that deal not only with simple modality integration and synchronization, but cover the full spectrum of dialogue phenomena that are associated with symmetric multimodality (including crossmodal references, one-anaphora, and backchannelling). We show that SmartKoms plug-anplay architecture supports multiple recognizers for a single modality, eg. the users speech signal can be processed by three unimodal recognizers in parallel (speech recognition, emotional prosody, boundary prosody). Finally, we detail SmartKoms three-tiered representation of multimodal discourse, consisting of a domain layer, a discourse layer, and a modality layer.

KI-98: Advances in Artificial Intelligence

Recently there has been a growing interest in the use of the biological immune system as a source of inspiration for solving complicated computational problems. The immune system involves many information-processing abilities including pattern recognition, learning, memory and inherent distributed p... Artificial Intelligence is the study of how to build or program computers to enable them to do what minds can do. This volume discusses the ways in which computational ideas and computer modeling can aid our understanding of human and animal minds. Major theoretical approaches are outlined, as well ...

Configuration of a Passenger Aircraft Cabin based on Conceptual Hierarchy, Constraints and flexible Control

Starting out from a concrete application — configuring passenger cabins for the aircraft AIRBUS A340 — we discuss the use of a conceptual hierarchy, a constraint system and flexible control in configuration expert systems. In the course of this description we show that these mechanisms allow an adequate representation of the domain knowledge and modular structuring of expert systems Besides, they have advantages over rule-based architectures.

Flexible control in expert systems for construction tasks

In most expert systems for constructional tasks, the knowledge base consists of a set of facts or object definitions and a set of rules. These rules contain knowledge about correct or ideal solutions as well as knowledge on how to control the construction process. In this paper, we present an approach that avoids this type of rules and thus the disadvantages caused by them.We propose a static knowledge base consisting of a set of object definitions interconnected by is-a and part-of links. This conceptual hierarchy declaratively defines a taxonomy of domain objects and the aggregation of components to composite objects. Thus, the conceptual hierarchy describes the set of all admissible solutions to a constructional problem. Interdependencies between objects are represented by constraints. A solution is a syntactically complete and correct instantiation of the conceptual hierarchy.No control knowledge is included in the conceptual hierarchy. Instead, the control mechanism will use the conceptual hierarchy as a guideline. Thus it is possible to determine in which respects a current partial solution is incomplete simply by syntactical comparison with the conceptual hierarchy. The control architecture proposed here has the following characteristics: separation of control and object knowledge, declarative representation of control knowledge, and explicit control decisions in the problem solving process. Thus, a flexible control mechanism can be realized that supports interactive construction, integration of case-based approaches and simulation methods.This control method is part of an expert system kernel for planning and configuration tasks in technical domains. This kernel has been developed at the University of Hamburg and is currently applied to several domains.

A Short History of Configuration Technologies

Abstract Nearly 40-years of configuration technologies motivated us to give this brief overview of the main configuration technological streams. We outline the technological developments in the field starting from the first expert systems of the late 1970s down to today’s configuration solutions. The vastness and intricacies of the configuration field makes it impossible to cover concisely all of its relevant aspects. For the purpose of this overview, we decided to focus on the following four different yet overlapping technological developments: (1) rule-based configurators, (2) early model-based configurators, (3) mainstream configuration environments, and (4) mass customization toolkits.

Wissensbasierte Planung und Konfigurierung

Planungs- und Konfigurierungsprobleme haben einen gemeinsamen Kern: Durch geeignetes Zusammenfugen von Einzelteilen (Aktionen, Geraten, Methoden, Bauteilen) soll ein komplexes Aggregat (Plan, Geratekonfiguration, Verfahren) aufgebaut werden, das eine vorgegebene Aufgabenstellung befriedigt. Um Expertensysteme fur diese Aufgabenklasse leichter realisieren zu konnen, wird im Rahmen des Verbundprojektes TEX-K ein Expertensystemkern PLAKON erstellt. Im Gegensatz zu anderen Expertensystemen wird das Expertenwissen intern vorwiegend in Form einer Begriffshierarchie mit Spezialisierungs- und Zerlegungsbeziehungen reprasentiert, mit der die Suche nach sinnvollen Konfigurationen effektiv gesteuert werden kann. Der Beitrag erlautert das Konzept und informiert uber die bisherigen Arbeiten.

Separating control from structural knowledge in construction expert systems

In most expert systems for constructional tasks the knowledge base consists of a set of facts or object definitions and a set of rules. These rules contain knowledge about correct or ideal solutions as well as knowledge on how to control the construction process. In this paper we present an approach that avoids this type of rules and thus the disadvantages caused by them. We propose a static knowledge base consisting of a set of object definitions interconnected by is-a and part-of links. This conceptual hierarchy declaratively defines a taxonomy of domain objects and the aggregation of components to composite objects. Thus, the conceptual hierarchy describes the set of all admissible solutions to a constructional problem. Interdependencies between objects are represented by constraints. A solution is a syntactically complete and correct partial instantiation of the conceptual hierarchy. No control knowledge is included in the conceptual hierarchy. Instead, the control mechanism will use it as a guideline. It is thus possible to determine in which respects a current partial solution is incomplete, simply by comparing it with the conceptual hierarchy syntactically. The most important advantage of this approach is the ability to represent control knowledge and structural knowledge separately.

Modelle beim Konfigurieren

Der Workshop uber „Modelle beim Konfigurieren“ auf der KI-93 ist ein Diskussionsworkshop mit Kurzvortragen (5–10min) uber ein Thema, welches z.Z. kontrovers diskutiert wird. Fur einen solchen Workshop vorab eine inhaltliche Zusammenfassung zu erstellen, ist naturgemas eine kaum losbare Aufgabe. Ich werde im folgenden versuchen, die Thematik zu beschreiben und dabei moglichst die Positionen der aktiven Workshopteilnehmer zu berucksichtigen.

PLAKON - Ein übergreifendes Konzept zur Wissensrepräsentation und Problemlösung bei Planungs- und Konfigurierungsaufgaben

Wir fassen Planung und Konfigurierung unter dem Oberbegriff Konstruktion zusammen und zeigen Gemeinsamkeiten zwischen beiden Bereichen auf. Wir stellen unsere Ansatze zur Reprasentation von Konstruktionsobjekten vor. Dabei gehen wir von einer Begriffshierarchie aus, in der alle korrekten Konstruktionen beschrieben sind. Die Begriffshierarchie dient dem Konstruktionsvorgang als Leitfaden. Der Konstruktionsvorgang endet, wenn eine nach der Begriffshierarchie zulassige und vollstandige Konstruktion erzeugt wurde. Abschliesend wird eine Blackboard-Architektur fur ein System, das auf dieser Reprasentation arbeitet, skizziert.

Chapter 24 – KONWERK

This chapter presents the domain-independent configuration tool KONWERK. KONWERK provides hybrid configuration representation facilities implemented in so-called basic modules. Enhancement modules provide aspects such as modeling of complex requirements or creating spatial configurations. These modules can be used for developing diverse applications.