Actuation system for an agent oriented architecture

A user interaction method, comprising the steps of:

• instantiating an actuation module having a back-end interface arranged to communicate with a first back-end application;
• and
• instantiating a natural language interpreter having an input for receiving token sequences generated from user input, and an output for outputting interpretation result commands in an application-independent form toward said actuation module in response to said token sequences;
• said actuation module receiving a first one of said interpretation result commands, translating said first interpretation result command into a set of at least one application-specific application command for said first back-end application, and forwarding said at least one application command toward said first back-end application, and
• said natural language interpreter issuing a clarification request in response to one of said token sequences and forwarding said clarification request toward said user.

A user interaction method, comprising the steps of:

• instantiating an actuation module having a first back-end interface arranged to communicate with a first back-end application and a second back-end interface arranged to communicate with a second back-end application;
• and
• instantiating a natural language interpreter having an input for receiving token sequences generated from user input, and an output for outputting interpretation result commands in an application-independent form toward said actuation module in response to said token sequences;
• said actuation module receiving a first one of said interpretation result commands, translating said first interpretation result command into a set of at least one application-specific application command for said first back-end application, and forwarding said at least one application command toward said first back-end application,
• and said actuation module receiving a second one of said interpretation result commands, translating said second interpretation result command into a set of at least one second application command for said second back-end application, and forwarding said at least one second application command toward said second back-end application.

A user interaction method, comprising the steps of:

• instantiating an actuation module having a back-end interface arranged to communicate with a first back-end application;
• and
• instantiating a natural language interpreter having an input for receiving token sequences generated from user input, and an output for outputting interpretation result commands in an application-independent form toward said actuation module in response to said token sequences,
• said actuation module receiving a first one of said interpretation result commands, translating said first interpretation result command into a set of at least one application-specific application command for said first back-end application, and forwarding said at least one application command toward said first back-end application,
• wherein said natural language interpreter comprises:
• a plurality of agents arranged in a network, each of said agents having at least one interpretation policy having a policy condition and a policy action associated with the condition, each of said interpretation policies making a claim on at least part of a token sequence provided to the agent if the condition of the interpretation policy is satisfied, and executing the associated policy action in response to determination that the claim is at least part of a winning claim.

A user interaction method, comprising the steps of:

• instantiating an actuation module having a back-end interface arranged to communicate with a first back-end application;
• instantiating a natural language interpreter having an input for receiving token sequences generated from user input, and an output for outputting interpretation result commands toward said actuation module in response to said token sequences;
• said natural language interpreter outputting a first interpretation result command toward said first back-end application in response to a first one of said token sequences;
• said first back-end application providing a first response to said first interpretation result command in an application-specific form;
• and
• said actuation module translating said first response into an application-independent form, and communicating said first response toward said user.

User interactive apparatus comprising:

• a natural language interpreter having an input for receiving token sequences from a user interaction subsystem and an output for outputting interpretation result commands in response to said token sequences;
• and
• an actuation subsystem in communication with first and second back-end applications said actuation subsystem communicating first and second application commands to respectively said first and second back-end applications in response to said interpretation result commands,
• wherein said actuation subsystem communicates said first application command to said first back-end application in response to a first one of said interpretation result commands and communicates said second application command to said second back-end application in response to a second one of said interpretation result commands.

A user interaction method, for use with a first back-end application, comprising the steps of:

• developing an interpretation result command in an application-independent form in response to token sequences generated from user input;
• developing a set of at least one application-specific undo command for said first back-end application in dependence upon said application-independent interpretation result command, the set of at least one application-specific undo command being effective to undo the interpretation result command;
• and
• in response to subsequent user input, forwarding said at least one application-specific undo command toward said first back-end application.