Assistive agent

Abstract

Systems and methods are disclosed for providing automated assistance for a user by receiving a user request for assistance; translating the request to a language and determining semantics of the user request and identifying at least one domain, at least one task, and at least one parameter for the user request; searching a semantic database on the Internet for the at least one matching domain, task, and parameter; and accessing semantic data and services having one or more triples including subject, predicate, and object available over the Internet; and responding to the user request.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for providing automated assistance for a user using a computing device, comprising:
 receiving a user request for assistance;   translating the request to a language and determining semantics of the user request and identifying at least one domain, at least one task, and at least one parameter for the user request;   searching a semantic database on the Internet for the at least one matching domain, task, and parameter; and accessing semantic data and services having one or more triples including subject, predicate, and object available over the Internet; and   responding to the user request.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising searching for the at least one matching domain, task and parameter in one of: a semantic hotel database, a semantic restaurant database, a semantic local event database, semantic concert database, a semantic media database, a semantic book database, a semantic music database, a semantic travel database, and a semantic flight database. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 receiving user voice with the user request spoken in a first language;   translating the user request spoken in the first language to the second language;   compensating for translation errors based on user history;   generating a response in the second language; and   translating the response to the first language and rendering the response to the user.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising forwarding the request to a call center agent for handling. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the receiving the user request comprises recognizing user voice. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 receiving user voice with the user request spoken in a first language;   translating the user request spoken in the first language to the second language;   compensating for translation errors based on user history; searching for responsive data in the second language; and   translating the response to the first language and rendering the response to the user.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 7 , wherein the second language comprises English, French or Chinese. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the semantic database comprises user generated reviews or recommendations. 
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising identifying options available from a third party computer for the user and requesting from the third party computer available options that match the user request. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising presenting available options to the user to confirm. 
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising presenting available time or location options to the user to confirm. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 9 , comprising automatically making a reservation for an available option on behalf of the user. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising eliciting more information on the user request and restating the user request as a confirmation to the user. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising disambiguating alternative parsing by identifying at least two competing semantic interpretations of the user request; and receiving clarification from the user to resolve ambiguity. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising processing the user input using at least one selected from the group consisting of: data from a short term memory describing at least one previous interaction in a current session; and data from a long term memory describing at least one characteristic of the user. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the semantic database comprises a triple store database. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising managing emails by filtering important emails and responding to the rest on the user's behalf, wherein a user provides guidance on how to pick out key emails and a virtual assistant copies the user before sending out any responses to reduce the risk of errors. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising performing social chores for the user including writing notes on behalf of the user. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising performing travel research including finding hotels, booking airfares and mapping out trip itineraries. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising managing a calendar for the user, dealing with meeting invitations from others, scheduling appointments with clients and helping to plan events.