IRES: U.S.-France Research and Education on Contextual Reasoning and its Application to Conversational Agents

The University Of Central Florida Board Of Trustees, Orlando FL

Investigators

Abstract

In this IRES project supported by the Office of International Science and Engineering, U.S. graduate and undergraduate students under the direction of Professor Avelino Gonzalez at the University of Central Florida will participate in a collaborative research effort in conversational avatars with Dr. Patrick Brezillon at Universite de Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France. The U.S. students will explore the possibility of using contextual graphs (CxGs) to model and develop a tool for identifying the context of conversations and improving dialog management. Conversational avatars are artifacts, such as computer programs, robots, or animations, which behave and communicate like specific people. Such avatars have potential applications across many fields, including health, business, and defense. One example is in the area of health maintenance, where improvement in the naturalness of avatars could improve their acceptance by senior citizens who need human-like coaching in therapy or medicine management. In the course of working on their research projects, the students will learn both how to speak French as well as how to interact in French culture. They will thus gain an invaluable research experience in an international setting, helping contribute to the development of a new generation of a skilled technical workforce with a global perspective.