An Extensible Dialogue Script for a Robot Based on Unification of State-Transition Models

Abstract

We propose extension-by-unification method to improve reusability of the dialogue components in the development of communication function of the robot. Compared to previous extension-by-connection method used in behavior-based communication robot developments, the extension-by-unification method has the ability to decompose the script into components. The decomposed components can be recomposed to build a new application easily. In this paper, first we, explain a reformulation we have applied to the conventional state-transition model. Second, we explain a set of algorithms to decompose, recompose, and detect the conflict of each component. Third, we explain a dialogue engine and a script management server we have developed. The script management server has a function to propose reusable components to the developer in real time by implementing the conflict detection algorithm. The dialogue engine SEAT (Speech Event-Action Translator) has flexible adapter mechanism to enable quick integration to robotic systems. We have confirmed that by the application of three robots, development efficiency has improved by 30%.