CN111459836A

CN111459836A - Conversation strategy configuration method and conversation system

Info

Publication number: CN111459836A
Application number: CN202010301037.3A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 高懿; 陈博
Original assignee: Dalian Real Time Intelligent Technology Co ltd
Current assignee: Dalian Real Time Intelligent Technology Co ltd
Priority date: 2020-04-16
Filing date: 2020-04-16
Publication date: 2020-07-28
Anticipated expiration: 2040-04-16
Also published as: CN111459836B

Abstract

The invention discloses a dialogue system, which comprises a strategy configurator, a checker, a simulator and an executor, wherein the strategy configurator is used for configuring a strategy; the strategy configurator is respectively connected with the checker, the simulator and the actuator; the checker receives the dialogue strategy script output by the strategy configurator and generates a dialogue strategy script without error; the simulator receives the dialogue strategy script without error in verification and generates a simulation dialogue strategy script without error; and the executor executes the dialogue strategy script without error verification and simulation, and carries out non-real-time dialogue interactive operation with the user. In addition, the invention also discloses a dialogue strategy configuration method. By adopting the technical scheme of the invention, a plurality of system action control methods are provided on the basis of the script language, so that a system developer can finely control the whole dialog system, and meanwhile, a checker and a simulator are provided, thereby improving the development efficiency of the dialog system.

Description

Conversation strategy configuration method and conversation system

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of intelligent conversation, in particular to a conversation strategy configuration method and a conversation system.

Background

In the prior art, a text-based dialog system is shown in fig. 1, a text sequence input by a user is received by a language understanding device, and the language understanding device maps the text sequence into semantic expression and outputs the semantic expression to a dialog manager; the dialog manager obtains a semantic expression result responded by the dialog system according to the dialog strategy based on the semantic expression result obtained by the language manager; the semantic expression result of the system response is input to a language generator, and the language generator converts the semantic expression result into a character sequence of the system response and feeds back and outputs the character sequence to a user.

The dialogue strategy can be a machine learning model obtained by training a large amount of dialogue data, and can also be a set of script rules customized according to the business; compared with a machine learning model, the script rule does not need huge data support, and the dialog set of the dialog system is determined, so that the uncontrollable situation can be avoided, and therefore, the script rule mode is adopted in most dialog strategies in the dialog system in the prior art.

However, the inventor has found that, after the configuration of the dialog policy is completed, the dialog system in the prior art cannot quickly draw a conclusion as to whether the dialog policy meets the execution requirements of the dialog manager and meets the logic of the system developer, thereby increasing the period of system development and causing uncertainty of system performance. Meanwhile, with the popularization of the application of the dialog system, the dialog system develops towards a complex service and multi-service support direction; a dialog system may need to be able to handle a number of services which have a certain correlation between them, for example a customer service system belonging to a certain company; but different services also have respective characteristics, namely different processes and processing modes are provided for handling different services.

Disclosure of Invention

Based on this, in order to solve the technical problems in the prior art, a dialog policy configuration method is particularly provided, which includes:

the strategy configurator receives configuration information input by a system developer and generates an executable conversation strategy script, and the strategy configurator outputs the conversation strategy script to the checker;

the checker receives the dialogue strategy script output by the strategy configurator and carries out grammar specification check on the dialogue strategy script to ensure that the dialogue strategy script has no grammar and form error and can be executed by the executor, thereby generating a check-error-free dialogue strategy script;

the simulator receives the dialogue strategy script without error verification, carries out simulation interaction by one or more message types, and displays and reviews the internal state and action sequence of the actuator in the process of the simulation interaction so as to ensure that the dialogue strategy script has no logic error, thereby generating the dialogue strategy script without error simulation;

the executor receives the dialogue strategy script which is verified to be correct by the checker and simulated by the simulator; and the executor executes the dialogue strategy script without error checking and error simulation, and carries out non-real-time dialogue interactive operation with the user of the dialogue system.

In one embodiment, the policy configurator outputs a dialog policy script, the dialog policy script comprising a computer script program and a flow, the flow comprising a main flow and a sub-flow; the flow is composed of a plurality of flow units, wherein each flow unit comprises a starting unit, an ending unit, a service action unit, a branch unit, a data interaction unit, a sub-flow unit, a user interaction unit and a post-processing unit; all the process units form the process through directional connection; the dialogue system controls the flow by using the entry conditions and the script program in each flow unit.

In one embodiment, the checker checks whether the dialog strategy script output by the strategy configurator conforms to the grammar specification and can be directly executed by the executor; the checking result of the checker is returned to a system developer, and the checking result comprises an error position, error information and a modification suggestion; and modifying the conversation strategy script by a system developer according to the checking result.

In one embodiment, the simulator simulates an interactive process between a dialog system and a user; the simulator comprises a conversation process monitoring module, a conversation state monitoring module, an input module and a simulation parameter configuration module; and a system developer discovers a logic error in the dialogue strategy script through the internal state and action sequence of the dialogue system in the interaction process shown by the simulator, and modifies the dialogue strategy script according to the discovered logic error.

In addition, in order to solve the technical problems in the prior art, a dialog system is particularly provided, which comprises a strategy configurator, a checker, a simulator and an executor; the strategy configurator is respectively connected with the checker, the simulator and the executor mutually;

In one embodiment, the policy configurator outputs a dialog policy script, the dialog policy script includes a script program and a flow, the flow includes a main flow and a sub-flow; the flow is composed of a plurality of flow units, wherein each flow unit comprises a starting unit, an ending unit, a service action unit, a branch unit, a data interaction unit, a sub-flow unit, a user interaction unit and a post-processing unit; all the process units form the process through directional connection; the dialogue system controls the process by using the entry conditions and the script programs in each process unit.

In one embodiment, the start unit is configured to perform a start operation of the flow; the ending unit is used for executing ending operation of the flow; the service action unit is used for executing actions related to the service; the branch unit is used for determining the next step trend of the process through logic judgment; the data interaction unit is used for carrying out interaction operation with a server outside the dialogue system through an interface to obtain data; the sub-process unit is used for executing sub-process operation; the user interaction unit is used for carrying out user interaction operation with a user of the dialog system; and the post-processing unit is used for performing post-processing operation of the dialog system after the dialog is finished.

In one embodiment, the user interaction unit comprises a pre-interaction script program module, a service action module, an output message module, an input message analysis module, a language understanding module, a post-interaction script program module, a skip branch module, a sub-flow module and a return processing module; the user interaction unit controls the execution flow of each module by using the entry condition of each module and the script program;

the user interaction operation comprises a notification mode and an interaction mode; in the notification mode, after the user interaction unit starts to be executed, a pre-interaction script program module, a service action module and an output message module which are connected in the user interaction unit from front to back are sequentially executed; in the interactive mode, after the user interactive unit is started to be executed, a pre-interactive script program module, a service action module, an output message module, an input message analysis module, a language understanding module, a post-interactive script program module and a jump branch module which are connected in the interactive unit in a front-back mode are sequentially executed, when the jump branch module is executed, when the entering condition of one jump branch is met, the jump branch is entered, otherwise, a sub-flow module and a return processing module are sequentially executed.

In one embodiment, the checker is used for checking whether the dialogue strategy script output by the strategy configurator conforms to the grammar specification and can be directly executed by the executor; and returning the check result of the checker to a system developer, wherein the check result comprises an error position, error information and a modification suggestion, and the system developer modifies the conversation strategy script according to the check result.

In one embodiment, the simulator is used for simulating a dialogue interaction process between the dialogue system and a user; the simulator comprises an input module, a conversation process monitoring module, a conversation state monitoring module and a simulation parameter configuration module; and a system developer discovers a logic error in the dialogue strategy script through the internal state and action sequence of the dialogue system in the interaction process shown by the simulator, and modifies the dialogue strategy script according to the discovered logic error.

The embodiment of the invention has the following beneficial effects:

the invention provides a multi-process mechanism, which comprises a main process and a plurality of sub-processes, wherein each process is associated with corresponding business operation; allowing different processes to jump to each other so as to meet the condition of user topic conversion in the conversation process; a fine control mechanism is provided, and each step of action is conditionally controlled through a program compiling function based on a script language, namely, the flow is finely controlled by using the entry conditions in each flow unit and the script program, and meanwhile, a plurality of system action control methods are provided on the basis of the script language, so that a system developer can finely control the expression of the whole dialog system; an interface calling mechanism is provided, and the flow direction is finely controlled according to an interface calling result; the two tools of the checker and the simulator are provided, and a system developer can conveniently check the feasibility and the correctness of the dialogue strategy from the aspects of form and logic, so that the development efficiency of the dialogue system is improved, and the performance of the dialogue system is greatly ensured; a post-processing mechanism is provided that allows the generation of appropriate dialog state output based on logical rules after the dialog is completed.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Wherein:

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a prior art dialog system;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating the execution of a start unit in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of an end unit in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the execution flow of the business action unit in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart illustrating the execution of a branch unit in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of a data interaction unit in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flow chart illustrating the execution of a sub-flow unit in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of a user interaction unit in a notification mode in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of a user interaction unit in an interaction mode in the dialog system according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of a message output module in a user interaction unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating the execution flow of the skip branch module in the user interaction unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of a sub-flow module in a user interaction unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating an execution flow of a return processing module in the user interaction unit according to the present invention;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a dialog process presentation interface of the dialog process monitoring module in the simulator of the present invention;

FIG. 16 is a schematic diagram of a real-time variable model of a dialog state monitor module in the simulator of the present invention;

FIG. 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a session replay mode of the session status monitor module in the simulator according to the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a schematic diagram of a simulator in accordance with the present invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 2, the present invention discloses a dialog system; the dialogue system comprises a strategy configurator, a checker, a simulator and an executor; the strategy configurator is respectively connected with the checker, the simulator and the executor mutually;

the checker receives the dialogue strategy script output by the strategy configurator and carries out grammar specification check on the dialogue strategy script to ensure that the dialogue strategy script is free from formal errors and can be executed by the executor, so that an error-free dialogue strategy script is generated;

the checker outputs the dialog strategy script which is checked to be correct to the strategy configurator or outputs the dialog strategy script to the simulator; when the dialogue strategy script without error is output to the strategy configurator, the strategy configurator forwards the dialogue strategy script without error to the simulator;

the checker outputs a simulation error-free dialogue strategy script to the strategy configurator or outputs the simulation error-free dialogue strategy script to the actuator; when the simulation error-free conversation strategy script is output to the strategy configurator, the strategy configurator forwards the simulation error-free conversation strategy script to the executor;

Specifically, the policy configurator outputs dialog policy scripts, each containing a script program written in a computer script language and a corresponding flow.

Wherein the computer script language provides variable definitions and variable-based operations: a variable is a sequence beginning with a letter or an underline, consisting of a letter, a number, and an underline, which is used to store the variable value.

In the policy configurator, the variables in the dialog policy script include three uses: the first purpose is to input parameters, before the conversation starts, a system caller inputs the input parameters into the conversation system, and variables store parameter values of the input parameters, such as names, sexes and other information of users in the conversation process; the second purpose is to transmit parameters, and after the conversation is finished, the conversation system transmits the parameters to a system caller by using the parameter values stored in the variables; the third purpose is to control the flow logic, and variables are used for controlling the flow logic in the conversation process, for example, the conversation content of the next round needs to be determined according to whether the user transacts a certain business or not in a certain round of conversation.

In a policy configurator, variable-based operations include two types: the first type of operation modifies the value of a variable through operation and assignment; the second type of operation determines whether a true value expression is true by operation and assignment.

In any technical solution for implementing the present invention, the computer script language for writing the dialog policy script may be customized by a system developer of the dialog system, or an existing computer script language, such as JavaScript, L ua, Python, etc., may be used.

The flow of the dialogue strategy script comprises a main flow and a sub flow; the main process is the process executed by the dialog system firstly when the dialog starts, and other sub-processes can be skipped to and executed in the main process execution process; for a dialog strategy script, there is one and only one main flow, and the number of sub-flows is zero to many.

The flow of the dialogue strategy script comprises a plurality of flow units, namely the flow of the dialogue strategy script is composed of a plurality of flow units and comprises a starting unit, an ending unit, a business action unit, a branch unit, a data interaction unit, a sub-flow unit, a user interaction unit and a post-processing unit; each flow has one and only one start unit, at least one end unit, and zero to a plurality of other units; different process units form a process through directional connection. In a connection, from a first process element to a second process element, the first process element is referred to as a preceding element of the second process element and the second element is referred to as a succeeding element of the first element.

A system developer of the dialog system inputs configuration information to a policy configurator according to the service logic of the current service to configure the flow in the dialog policy script of the current service, namely the policy configurator configures the flow in the dialog policy script of the current service according to the input configuration information; specifically, the policy configurator configures flow units for each process, and configures logical connection relations among the flow units for each process; the strategy configurator configures parameters required by the execution of each flow unit by the executor; the strategy configurator configures the processes, each process unit, the entry conditions of the modules in each process unit and the script program; the flow, the collection of the flow units, the logical connection relation of the flow units, the execution parameters of each flow unit and the script program form a conversation strategy script, and the conversation strategy script is output by the strategy configurator.

Each flow unit has a corresponding composition structure and execution logic (or called execution flow), and allows a dialog system developer to configure input messages, output messages, language understanding (Natural L and language processing, referred to as N L P), data interface calls and logic control for the dialog system developer.

(1) The starting unit is used for executing the starting operation of the flows, and each flow has one and only one starting unit; the starting unit has no preceding unit and only one subsequent unit; the start unit contains an entry condition, which is a function of a true value expression or a return value true value written by a scripting language. Execution logic of the Start Unit As shown in FIG. 3, the dialog system uses the value of the current variable to determine the authenticity of the entry conditions of the Start Unit. When the entry condition value of the start unit is judged to be true, the flow enters a subsequent unit of the start unit; otherwise, refusing to enter the current flow.

(2) The ending unit is used for executing ending operation of the flows, and each flow comprises one or more ending units; the end unit has no subsequent units, while it has one or more preceding units; the ending unit contains an action profile after the ending, the action profile comprising two values: and returning or ending. The execution logic of the end unit is shown in fig. 4. When the action is returned after the action is finished, the dialog system returns to the original flow before the current flow is called after executing to the current finishing unit, and the dialog is finished when the original flow does not exist; when the action configuration after the ending is finished, the current conversation process is directly finished.

(3) The service action unit is used for executing actions related to the service; for example, the dialog system may, where appropriate, short message the user, generate a work order, or forward the dialog to a human customer service. A business action unit may have one or more preceding units and only one succeeding unit. The service action unit comprises a plurality of groups of service actions, each group of service actions is associated with an entry condition of the service action, and the entry condition of the service action is a true value expression written by a script language or a function with a true value as a return value. The execution logic of the business action unit is shown in fig. 5. The dialogue system verifies the entry conditions of each group of business actions one by one, and when the entry conditions of the group of business actions are true, the group of business actions are executed; after the execution is completed, the system will then verify the entry conditions of the next group of business actions until all the group of business actions are executed.

(4) The branch unit is used for deciding the next step of the flow by logic judgment. The branching unit may have a plurality of preceding units and a plurality of succeeding units. The branch units comprise jump branches, each jump branch comprises an entry condition, a script program and a service action, the entry condition of the jump branch is a truth expression written by a script language or a function with a return value being a truth value, and each jump branch points to a subsequent unit of the current branch unit. The execution logic of the branch unit is as shown in fig. 6, the dialog system will verify the entry condition of each jump branch one by one, only when the entry condition of one of the jump branches is true, the dialog system will execute the script program of the jump branch, then execute the business action of the jump branch, and jump the flow to the subsequent unit pointed by the jump branch. Among the multiple jump branches of the branch unit, there is one and only one default jump branch. And when the entry conditions of all other jump branches are not met, executing script programs and service actions of the default jump branch by the dialog system, and jumping to a subsequent unit pointed by the default jump branch.

(5) The data interaction unit is used for carrying out interaction operation with a server outside the dialogue system through the interface to obtain data. For example, when the dialogue system is applied to an automatic customer service system of a mobile phone operator, the data interaction unit inquires information such as the telephone charge, the credit and the like of the current user through an interface. The data interaction unit may have a plurality of preceding units and a plurality of succeeding units. The data interaction unit comprises a script program before calling, interface definition, a script program after calling and a jump branch: the script program before calling is a program executed before the interface calling, and the script program after calling is a program executed after the interface calling; the interface definition comprises an interface protocol type, a method, a path, a format of a request message, a format of a return message and the like; the jump branch contains entry conditions, a script program, and multiple sets of business actions. After the interface is called and the called script program is executed, the dialogue system can check the entry condition of each jump branch one by one, and only when the entry condition of the jump branch is true, the dialogue system can enter the jump branch to execute the script program and the service action of the jump branch. Each group of service actions is associated with an entry condition for a service action, and the group of service actions is executed only if the entry condition for the service action is true. The execution logic of the taken branch in the data interaction unit is the same as the execution logic of the taken branch in the branch unit, as shown in fig. 6. The execution logic of the data interaction unit is shown in fig. 7.

(6) The sub-process unit is used for executing sub-process operation. A sub-process element may have multiple preceding elements and only one succeeding element. The sub-process unit is provided with a script program before calling, a sub-process label (ID) pointed by the current sub-process unit and a script program after calling. When the dialog system is executed to the sub-process unit, the calling pre-script program is executed firstly, and then the sub-process corresponding to the sub-process label (ID) is entered, and the execution is started from the starting unit. After the end unit of the flow is executed, if the type of the end unit is return, the flow returns to the sub-flow unit, and the called script program is executed. When the sub-flow unit is executed, the dialog system does not check the entry condition of the sub-flow start unit, and even if the entry condition is false, the execution of the sub-flow is not affected. The execution logic of the sub-flow unit is shown in fig. 8.

(7) The user interaction unit is used for carrying out user interaction operation with a user of the dialog system. The user interaction unit may have a plurality of preceding units and a plurality of succeeding units. The user interaction unit comprises a script program module before interaction, a service action module, an output message module, an input message analysis module, a language understanding module, a script program module after interaction, a skip branch module, a sub-flow module and a return processing module; and the user interaction unit controls the execution flow of each module by using the entry condition of each module and the script program.

The user interaction operation of the user interaction unit comprises two modes, namely a notification mode and an interaction mode, wherein in the notification mode, the dialog system outputs the message configured in the message output module to the user through the user interaction unit, and in the interaction mode, the dialog system expands a dialog process with the user through the user interaction unit.

Specifically, as shown in fig. 9, in the notification mode, the dialog system starts to execute the user interaction unit and then sequentially executes the pre-interaction script program module, the service action module, and the message output module, which are connected in front of and behind the user interaction unit;

specifically, as shown in fig. 10, in the interaction mode, after the dialog system starts to execute the user interaction unit, the pre-interaction script program module, the service action module, the output message module, the input message parsing module, the language understanding module, the post-interaction script program module, and the jump branch module, which are connected in the interaction unit in sequence, are executed in sequence, when the jump branch module is executed, the jump branch is entered when an entry condition of one of the jump branches is satisfied, otherwise, the sub-flow module and the return processing module are executed in sequence.

Each module in the user interaction unit is specifically as follows:

and <1> the pre-interaction script program module comprises an interaction pre-script program written by a computer script language, and the pre-interaction script program is used for executing corresponding operations on variables in interaction.

The <2> business action module comprises a plurality of groups of business actions, each group of business actions is associated with a business action entry condition, and the business action entry condition is a truth expression compiled by a script language or a function with a true return value. The execution logic is the same as that of the business action unit, as shown in fig. 5.

<3> the output message module contains a plurality of sets of output messages in the form of text, voice, pictures, video, files, locations, rich media cards, and the like. The output message module execution logic is shown in fig. 11. Each group of output messages is associated with a message entry condition and a plurality of messages, wherein the message entry condition is a truth expression compiled by a scripting language or a function with a true return value, and the group of messages is selected only when the message entry condition is true; and simultaneously, the dialogue system selects one message from a plurality of messages in the group of messages according to a certain strategy and outputs the message to the user.

And the input message parsing module is used for configuring and parsing parameters of user input messages, and comprises preprocessing configuration aiming at text input, voice recognition parameter configuration aiming at voice input, video parsing parameter configuration aiming at video input, picture parsing parameter configuration aiming at picture input, document parsing parameter configuration aiming at document input, position parsing parameter configuration aiming at position input and card feedback information parsing parameter configuration aiming at rich media card feedback information. In the execution process, the executor analyzes the messages of the corresponding types according to various analysis configurations and outputs the analysis result to the subsequent language understanding module.

<5> the language understanding (N L U) module is used for configuring information related to language understanding (N L U), including information that the current user interaction unit needs to extract, variables for storing user intention resulting from language understanding, and other configuration information for language understanding, etc.

And <6> the script program module after interaction comprises a script program after interaction written by the computer script language, wherein the script program after interaction is used for executing corresponding operation on variables in the flow after the language is understood.

<7> the jump branch module includes a plurality of jump branches, each of which includes an entry condition, a set of script programs, a plurality of sets of business actions, and a plurality of sets of jump messages, and is directed to a subsequent unit. The entry condition of the jump branch is a function with a true value or a return value written by a computer script language, only when the entry condition of the jump branch is true, the dialog system enters the current jump branch, executes the script program, the service action and the output jump message of the jump branch, and jumps to the subsequent unit associated with the jump branch. The execution logic of the jump branch module is shown in FIG. 12. In the multiple groups of service actions, each group of service actions is associated with an entry condition of the service action, and the execution logic is the same as the service action unit, as shown in fig. 5. In the multiple groups of jump messages, each group of jump messages is associated with an entry condition of a jump message, and the execution logic of the jump messages is the same as that of the output message module, as shown in fig. 11.

The <8> sub-flow module is a module which is executed when the user intention has no direct relation with the current ongoing flow or the exception occurs in the text interaction process and needs to be processed by adopting the sub-flow. The abnormal conditions in the text interaction process comprise no input of a user, disconnection and the like. The sub-process module firstly verifies the entry condition of each sub-process to be activated, and the dialog system jumps control to the activated sub-process to execute only when the entry condition of the sub-process is true. And when the entry conditions of other sub-processes are not true, the dialog system enters the default sub-process to execute. When the default sub-process is executed, whether the entry condition of the default sub-process is true or not is not checked, and the execution is entered even if the entry condition of the default sub-process is false. After the execution is finished, if the type of the ending unit of the sub-process is ending, ending the current conversation process; if the type is return, then the current cell is returned. The logic for execution of the sub-flow modules is shown in FIG. 13.

In particular, one sub-type of the sub-flow module is an exception handling module. The exception handling module is mainly used for handling the exception conditions of no input, disconnection and the like of a user. The execution logic of the exception handling module is the same as the sub-flow module, as shown in FIG. 13.

In particular, another seed type of the sub-flow module is a question and answer (FAQ) module; a question answering (FAQ) module collects frequently-used questions and corresponding answers of a user, and each frequently-used question and corresponding answer form a sub-process. The execution logic of the question answering (FAQ) module is the same as that of the sub-flow module, as shown in fig. 13.

The <9> return processing module executes the return processing module by the dialog system after the sub-process module is executed and the current user interaction unit is returned; the processing logic of the return processing module is shown in fig. 14. The return processing module contains a return branch and a default branch.

Wherein, the return branch comprises an entry condition, a script program, a plurality of groups of business actions and a plurality of groups of dialogs; the entry condition of the return branch is a true value expression written by a computer script program or a function of which the return value is a true value, and the dialog system enters the return branch only when the entry condition of the return branch is true; each group of service actions is associated with an entry condition of one service action, and the group of service actions can be executed only when the entry condition of the service action is met; each group of dialogs is associated with an entry condition of one dialogs, and only when the entry condition of the dialogs is met, one dialogs is selected from the group of dialogs according to a certain rule for broadcasting; after the return branch is executed, the dialog system returns to the input message analysis module connected with the return processing module to continue executing. The execution logic of the service action in the return branch is the same as the service action unit, as shown in fig. 5; the execution logic of the return branch dialog is the same as the execution logic of the output message module, as shown in FIG. 11.

When the entry condition of the return branch is not met, the dialog system enters a default branch for execution. The default branch comprises a script program, a plurality of groups of business actions and a plurality of groups of dialogs and is connected to a subsequent unit; each group of service actions is associated with a service action entry condition, and the group of service actions can be executed only when the entry condition of the service action is met; each group of dialogs is associated with an entry condition of one dialogs, and only when the entry condition of the dialogs is met, one dialogs is selected from the group of dialogs according to a certain rule for broadcasting; and after the execution of the default branch is finished, the dialog system jumps to a subsequent unit to continue the execution. The execution logic of the business action in the default branch is the same as the business action unit, as shown in fig. 5. The execution logic of the default branch dialog is the same as the execution logic of the outgoing message module, as shown in FIG. 11.

(8) And the post-processing unit is used for performing post-processing operation of the dialog system after the dialog is finished. The post-processing unit has no preceding unit and no subsequent unit, which is flow independent. The post-processing unit has two trigger modes: in the first trigger mode, in any node of the process, as long as the execution is performed to the ending unit and the action type of the ending unit is ending, the dialog system enters the execution post-processing unit; in the second trigger mode, in the text interaction process, the user forcibly ends the current conversation process, and the conversation system enters the execution post-processing unit. The post-processing unit comprises a script program and a plurality of groups of service actions, and the dialogue system firstly executes the script program of the post-processing unit and then executes the service actions of the post-processing unit. The service action of each group of post-processing units is associated with an entry condition of the service action, and the dialog system executes the group of service actions only when the entry condition of the service action is true. After the post-processing unit is executed, the dialog system returns the outgoing parameters to the caller of the dialog system and ends the entire dialog.

Specifically, the checker is configured to check whether the dialog policy script output by the policy configurator conforms to a syntax specification, and whether the executor can directly execute the dialog policy script. The verifier will not check for problems in the policy script that do not comply with the logic. The dialog strategy script is a formatted file that can be stored in any format agreed upon by the dialog system. The content checked and verified by the verifier includes one or more of the following items, and is not limited to the following items:

(1) whether the dialogue strategy script has and only has one main flow;

(2) whether each flow has one and only one starting unit and at least one ending unit;

(3) whether each starting unit has no preceding unit and whether each starting unit has one and only one subsequent unit; whether the condition configuration in the starting unit accords with the preset script language grammar or not;

(4) whether each ending unit has no subsequent unit or at least one preceding unit; whether an action type is specified by an end unit, wherein the action type comprises returning or ending;

(5) whether each branching unit has at least one preceding unit and at least one succeeding unit; the entry condition of each jump branch of the branch unit, the entry condition of each group of service actions and whether each script program accords with the grammar of the script language; whether the service action of each jump branch meets the service requirement or not; whether each jump branch is connected to a unique subsequent cell;

(6) whether each business action unit has at least one forward unit and only one subsequent unit; whether the business action meets the business requirement or not;

(7) whether each data interaction unit has at least one front connection unit and at least one subsequent unit; whether the script program before calling, the script program after calling, the entry condition of the jump branch, the script program of the jump branch and the entry condition of the service action of the data interaction unit accord with the grammar of the script language or not; whether the interface protocol is legal or not, whether the interface definition conforms to the content of the interface protocol or not, and whether the input of the interface is a variable defined in the strategy script or not; whether the service action of each jump branch meets the service requirement or not; whether each jump branch is connected to a unique subsequent cell;

(8) whether each sub-process unit has one and only one preceding unit and one and only one subsequent unit; whether the configured sub-process in each sub-process unit can be found in the current strategy script or not; whether the script program before calling and the script program after calling of each sub-flow unit accord with the grammar of the script language;

(9) whether each user interaction unit has at least one front unit and at least one subsequent unit; whether a script program before interaction, a script program after interaction and each entry condition in the user interaction unit accord with the grammar of the script language or not; whether the occurred business action meets the business requirement or not; whether the configuration of input information, output information and language understanding meets the requirements of each module or not; whether each jump branch is connected to a unique subsequent cell; whether each sub-flow exists in the current strategy script; whether a default sub-flow exists; whether a return branch and a default branch exist in the return processing module or not;

(10) whether the script program of the post-processing unit conforms to the grammar of the script language; whether each group of service action meets the service requirement or not; whether the entry conditions of each group of business actions meet the grammar of the script language.

The check result of the checker is returned to the system developer in a certain format. The checking result comprises contents such as error positions, error information, modification suggestions and the like, and a system developer can conveniently and quickly modify the conversation strategy script according to the contents.

In particular, the simulator is used for simulating an interactive process between the dialog system and a user. Through step-by-step and detailed display of the internal state and action sequence of the dialog system in the whole interaction process, the simulator can help a system developer to find out the logic errors existing in the dialog strategy script, and therefore the online quality of the dialog system is guaranteed.

The simulator comprises a conversation process monitoring module, a conversation state monitoring module, an input module, a simulation parameter configuration module and a conversation simulation module.

The dialogue process monitoring module is used for monitoring action sequences of a user and a dialogue system in a dialogue process. FIG. 15 is a schematic view of a conversation process presentation interface of the conversation process monitoring module. In fig. 15, the first sub-module 151 shows the boundaries of the interface for the dialog process; the second sub-module 152 displays the flow unit executed by the current dialog, or displays the contents of the jump branch, the sub-flow and the like being executed; the third sub-module 153 is a system icon, and the fourth sub-module 154 is a user icon representing the execution subject of the action adjacent thereto; the fifth sub-module 155 represents action content, including text, voice, picture, video, document, position, rich media card feedback information input by the user, user intention understood by text, voice, picture, video, document, position, rich media card feedback information output by the dialog system, executed service action, executed script program, call interface process, etc. When the user inputs voice or the system outputs voice, a message icon 156 is generated after inputting voice or broadcasting the voice content, and the user can listen to the input voice or the voice output by the dialog system by clicking the message icon 156.

Specifically, in the simulator, when the message type is voice, the message icon is clicked to play the record; when the message type is a picture, clicking the message icon to display the picture; when the message type is video, the video is played by clicking the message icon; when the message type is a document, clicking the message icon to open the document; when the message type is the position, clicking the message icon to open the position positioning; when the message type is rich media card or rich media card feedback information, clicking the message icon to open the rich media card or rich media card feedback information; the message icons for different types of messages may be represented using different graphics.

The dialogue state monitoring module is used for monitoring variable values in the current dialogue system or reviewing variable values before and after execution of each action sequence of the dialogue system execution script program. Fig. 16 and 17 show two modes of the dialogue state monitoring module, respectively. Fig. 16 is a schematic diagram of the dialog state monitoring module in a monitoring dialog system variable real-time value mode (real-time variable mode), and fig. 17 is a schematic diagram of the dialog state monitoring module in a review dialog system script program mode (dialog replay mode).

The actions of the dialog state monitoring module in the dialog replay mode include one or more of, but are not limited to:

<1> reviewing the dialogues broadcasting dialogues action of the dialog system, displaying the values of all variables before the system executes the dialogues, and displaying the calculated value of each dialogues condition and the contents of the broadcasting dialogues when a plurality of groups of dialogues are selected;

<2> review dialog system language understanding (N L U) action showing user intent resulting from language understanding (N L U), information extracted by language understanding (N L U) process, and values of variables before and after execution of language understanding (N L U);

<3> reviewing the action sequence of the dialogue system executing the script program, and displaying the content of the script program and the values of variables before and after the script program is executed;

<4> the review dialogue system executes the business action, shows the content of the business action (such as a short message template of the short message sending action), and executes the values of each variable before and after the business action;

<5> the review dialog system judges the branch actions, including judging the result of each jump branch condition, judging the result of the entry condition of each sub-flow, and judging the value of each variable in the previous dialog system;

<6> reviewing the interface calling action, which comprises the values of variables before and after the interface calling, the content of the interface request message and the content of the interface response message;

<7> review the state of the variables of the dialog system as they enter the flow cell.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned contents, and any other information and variables that help to monitor the internal state of the system during the dialog process can be included in the dialog state monitoring module.

Wherein, the dialog system developer can simulate the interactive process between the user and the dialog system in one or more message types through the input module. In the text message type mode, the input module provides a text box for the user to input, and also provides a mode (such as a button) for simulating no input and meaningless sentence input of the user in the interactive process; in the voice message type mode, the input module provides a recording program and an uploading program for the user to input, and the user can directly input voice by using the recording program and can also upload the existing recording to simulate the user input.

The input module may require more input elements, such as in a telephone interaction system, the input module may need to provide additional key inputs and key timeout inputs. The present invention is not limited to input means, and any input means associated with the implemented dialog system may be incorporated within the scope of the input module.

The simulation parameter configuration module provides relevant parameters in the operation process of the simulator, and the relevant parameters include one or more of the following items, but are not limited to the following items:

<1> flow, flow element, initiated by simulator, which allows system developers to initiate dialog processes from a certain flow element of a certain flow without requiring that the dialog processes must begin from the beginning element of the main flow;

<2> initial values of all variables when the simulator starts to run, wherein the initial values comprise parameters required to be uploaded by a dialog system calling party before normal dialog and values of variables in a strategy script;

<3> the scope of simulator execution includes three modes, current unit, current flow and whole strategy. In the current unit mode, the simulator finishes executing the current unit, namely the simulation process is finished; in the current flow mode, the simulator finishes the current flow, namely the simulation process is finished; in the whole strategy mode, the simulator execution has no limit until an ending unit is encountered and the whole dialogue process is ended.

<4> strategies for simulator execution, including sequential execution and cyclic execution. In the sequential execution state, when the current flow unit, the current flow or the current dialogue strategy script is executed (depending on the current execution range), the simulator stops executing; in the loop execution state, when the current flow unit, the current flow or the current dialogue strategy script is executed (depending on the current execution range), the simulator jumps to the start of the current flow unit, the start unit of the current flow or the start unit of the main flow of the current dialogue strategy script, resets the variable to the state before the simulator starts, and repeatedly executes the current flow unit;

<5> the presentation of the simulator includes a simplified mode and a detailed mode. In the simple mode, the conversation process monitoring module displays the conversation contents of the user and the conversation system; in the detailed mode, the dialogue process monitoring module shows more actions of the dialogue system, including executing script programs, executing business actions, executing language understanding actions, branch jumps, and the like.

<6> the call modes of the data interaction unit include a simulation call mode and a real call mode. In the simulation calling mode, the simulator takes a preset interface calling result as an interface calling result; in the real calling mode, the simulator executes the interface calling operation and acquires the interface calling result from the deployed interface.

As shown in fig. 18, the dialog simulation module parses the policy configuration script and configures simulation parameters according to the output of the simulation parameter configuration module; the conversation simulation module receives the simulation input of a system developer through the input module and respectively outputs the system response to the conversation process monitoring module and the conversation state monitoring module. The system developer monitors the monitoring content in the conversation process monitoring module and the conversation state monitoring module, and inputs new information in the input module to observe the response of the conversation system. During the session simulation process, the system developer may terminate at any time and modify the policy configuration script based on the session simulation results, e.g., based on logic errors found in the session policy script.

Specifically, after a strategy configurator generates a conversation strategy script, the conversation strategy script is input to an actuator to be executed under the conditions that the conversation strategy script is verified to be correct by a checker and the simulator simulates to be correct, the actuator calls an input message, an output message, a language understanding (N L U), a script language interpreter and a service action execution module under the guidance of the conversation strategy script to complete the whole conversation interaction process, wherein the service action execution module comprises a short message sending module and a switching module.

In addition, the invention also discloses a dialogue management strategy configuration method, which comprises the following steps:

Wherein the checker outputs the dialog strategy script checked to be correct to the strategy configurator or to the simulator; when the verifier outputs the verification-error-free dialog policy script to the policy configurator, the policy configurator forwards the verification-error-free dialog policy script to the simulator.

The simulator outputs a dialogue strategy script which is simulated without errors to the strategy configurator or outputs the dialogue strategy script to the executor; when the simulator outputs the simulation error-free conversation strategy script to the strategy configurator, the strategy configurator forwards the simulation error-free conversation strategy script to the executor.

The strategy configurator outputs a dialogue strategy script, the dialogue strategy script comprises a computer script program and a flow, and the flow comprises a main flow and a sub-flow; the flow is composed of a plurality of flow units, wherein each flow unit comprises a starting unit, an ending unit, a service action unit, a branch unit, a data interaction unit, a sub-flow unit, a user interaction unit and a post-processing unit; all the process units form the process through directional connection; the dialogue system controls the flow by using the entry conditions and the script program in each flow unit.

The checker checks whether the dialogue strategy script output by the strategy configurator accords with the grammar specification and can be directly executed by the executor; the checking result of the checker is returned to a system developer, and the checking result comprises an error position, error information and a modification suggestion; and modifying the conversation strategy script by a system developer according to the checking result.

Wherein the simulator simulates an interaction process between the dialog system and a user; the simulator comprises a conversation process monitoring module, a conversation state monitoring module, an input module, a simulation parameter configuration module and a conversation simulation module; and a system developer discovers a logic error in the dialogue strategy script through the internal state and action sequence of the dialogue system in the interaction process shown by the simulator, and modifies the dialogue strategy script according to the discovered logic error.

The above examples are only intended to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it; although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments may still be modified, or some technical features may be equivalently replaced; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the corresponding technical solutions.

Claims

1. A dialogue system is characterized by comprising a strategy configurator, a checker, a simulator and an executor; the strategy configurator is respectively connected with the checker, the simulator and the executor mutually;

2. The dialog system of claim 1,

the strategy configurator outputs a dialogue strategy script, the dialogue strategy script comprises a script program and a flow, and the flow comprises a main flow and a sub-flow; the flow is composed of a plurality of flow units, wherein each flow unit comprises a starting unit, an ending unit, a service action unit, a branch unit, a data interaction unit, a sub-flow unit, a user interaction unit and a post-processing unit; all the process units form the process through directional connection; the dialogue system controls the process by using the entry conditions and the script programs in each process unit.

3. The dialog system of claim 2,

the starting unit is used for executing the starting operation of the flow; the ending unit is used for executing ending operation of the flow; the service action unit is used for executing actions related to the service; the branch unit is used for determining the next step trend of the process through logic judgment; the data interaction unit is used for carrying out interaction operation with a server outside the dialogue system through an interface to obtain data; the sub-process unit is used for executing sub-process operation; the user interaction unit is used for carrying out user interaction operation with a user of the dialog system; and the post-processing unit is used for performing post-processing operation of the dialog system after the dialog is finished.

4. The dialog system of claim 3 wherein the first and second communication means are connected to the first and second communication means,

the user interaction unit comprises a script program module before interaction, a service action module, an output message module, an input message analysis module, a language understanding module, a script program module after interaction, a skip branch module, a sub-flow module and a return processing module; the user interaction unit controls the execution flow of each module by using the entry condition of each module and the script program;

5. The dialog system of claim 1,

the checker is used for checking whether the dialogue strategy script output by the strategy configurator conforms to the grammar specification and can be directly executed by the executor; and returning the check result of the checker to a system developer, wherein the check result comprises an error position, error information and a modification suggestion, and the system developer modifies the conversation strategy script according to the check result.

6. The dialog system of claim 1,

wherein the simulator is used for simulating a dialogue interaction process between the dialogue system and a user; the simulator comprises an input module, a conversation process monitoring module, a conversation state monitoring module, a simulation parameter configuration module and a conversation simulation module; and a system developer discovers a logic error in the dialogue strategy script through the internal state and action sequence of the dialogue system in the interaction process shown by the simulator, and modifies the dialogue strategy script according to the discovered logic error.

7. A dialog policy configuration method, comprising:

8. The dialog policy configuration method of claim 6,

9. The dialog policy configuration method of claim 6,

10. The dialog policy configuration method of claim 6,

wherein the simulator simulates an interaction process between a dialog system and a user; the simulator comprises a conversation process monitoring module, a conversation state monitoring module, an input module, a simulation parameter configuration module and a conversation simulation module; and a system developer discovers a logic error in the dialogue strategy script through the internal state and action sequence of the dialogue system in the interaction process shown by the simulator, and modifies the dialogue strategy script according to the discovered logic error.