WO2000031671A9 - Collection and analysis of user profile information - Google Patents

Collection and analysis of user profile information

Info

Publication number
WO2000031671A9
WO2000031671A9 PCT/US1999/027217 US9927217W WO0031671A9 WO 2000031671 A9 WO2000031671 A9 WO 2000031671A9 US 9927217 W US9927217 W US 9927217W WO 0031671 A9 WO0031671 A9 WO 0031671A9
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
user
information
recited
agent
computer
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/US1999/027217
Other languages
French (fr)
Other versions
WO2000031671A1 (en
Inventor
Sean Handel
Brian Day
Miya Yuen
Original Assignee
Andersen Consulting Llp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Andersen Consulting Llp filed Critical Andersen Consulting Llp
Priority to AU19154/00A priority Critical patent/AU1915400A/en
Priority to EP99962786A priority patent/EP1131760A1/en
Publication of WO2000031671A1 publication Critical patent/WO2000031671A1/en
Publication of WO2000031671A9 publication Critical patent/WO2000031671A9/en

Links

Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06Q—INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY [ICT] SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES; SYSTEMS OR METHODS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR ADMINISTRATIVE, COMMERCIAL, FINANCIAL, MANAGERIAL OR SUPERVISORY PURPOSES, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06Q30/00—Commerce
    • G06Q30/02—Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
    • G06F11/30—Monitoring
    • G06F11/32—Monitoring with visual or acoustical indication of the functioning of the machine
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
    • G06F11/30—Monitoring
    • G06F11/34—Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
    • G06F11/3438—Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment monitoring of user actions
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
    • G06F11/30—Monitoring
    • G06F11/34—Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
    • G06F11/3447—Performance evaluation by modeling
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F11/00—Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring
    • G06F11/30—Monitoring
    • G06F11/34—Recording or statistical evaluation of computer activity, e.g. of down time, of input/output operation ; Recording or statistical evaluation of user activity, e.g. usability assessment
    • G06F11/3466—Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring
    • G06F11/3495—Performance evaluation by tracing or monitoring for systems
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING; CALCULATING OR COUNTING
    • G06F—ELECTRIC DIGITAL DATA PROCESSING
    • G06F2201/00—Indexing scheme relating to error detection, to error correction, and to monitoring
    • G06F2201/875—Monitoring of systems including the internet

Definitions

  • Agent based technology has become increasingly important for use with applications designed to interact with a user for performing various computer based tasks in foreground and background modes
  • Agent software comprises computer programs that are set on behalf of users to perform routine, tedious and time-consuming tasks
  • an agent must be personalized to the individual user's goals, habits and preferences
  • An agent is a person authorized by another person, typically referred to as a principal, to act on behalf of the principal In this manner the principal empowers the agent to perform any of the tasks that the principal is unwilling or unable to perform
  • an insurance agent may handle all of the insurance requirements for a principal, or a talent agent may act on behalf of a performer to arrange concert dates
  • a user network interface is created by obtaining user profile information from a database of user profile information Then, the system gathers behavioral information from the user profile information and statistically analyzes the behavioral information to generate graphs indicative of the user's interaction with applications which are presented on a display utilizing agent software Agent software is also utilized to gather user profile information pertaining to application usage and agent utilization to determine characteristics of a user for use in tuning a consistent user interface to applications DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
  • FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a representative hardware environment in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 2 is a flowchart of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a parsing unit of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 4 is a flowchart for pattern matching in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart for a search unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 6 is a flowchart for overall system processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 7 is a flowchart of topic processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 8 is a flowchart of meeting record processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 9 is a block diagram of process flow of a pocket bargain finder in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 10A and 10B are a block diagram and flowchart depicting the logic associated with creating a customized content web page in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 11 is a flowchart depicting the detailed logic associated with retrieving user-centric content in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 12 is a data model of a user profile in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 13 is a persona data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 14 is an intention data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 15 is a flowchart of the processing for generating an agent's current statistics in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 16 is a flowchart of the logic that determines the personalized product rating for a user in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 17 is a flowchart of the logic for accessing the centrally stored profile in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 18 is a flowchart of the interaction logic between a user and the integrator for a particular supplier in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 19 is a flowchart of the agent processing for generating a verbal summary in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 20 illustrates a display login in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 21 illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 22 illustrates a user main display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 23 illustrates an agent interaction display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Figure 24 is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 25 is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • Figure 26 is a block diagram of a magic wall in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • FIG. 1 A representative hardware environment is depicted in Figure 1 , which illustrates a typical hardware configuration of a workstation in accordance with a preferred embodiment having a central processing unit 110, such as a microprocessor, and a number of other units interconnected via a system bus 112
  • the workstation shown in Figure 1 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM) 114, Read Only Memory (ROM) 116, an I/O adapter 118 for connecting peripheral devices such as disk storage units 120 to the bus 112, a user interface adapter 122 for connecting a keyboard 124, a mouse 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 132, and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen (not shown) to the bus 112, communication adapter 134 for connecting the workstation to a communication network (e g , a data processing network) and a display adapter
  • a communication network e g , a data processing network
  • OOP is a process of developing computer software using objects, including the steps of analyzing the problem, designing the system, and constructing the program
  • An object is a software package that contains both data and a collection of related structures and procedures Since it contains both data and a collection of structures and procedures, it can be visualized as a self-sufficient component that does not require other additional structures, procedures or data to perform its specific task OOP, therefore, views a computer program as a collection of largely autonomous components, called objects, each of which is responsible for a specific task
  • This concept of packaging data, structures, and procedures together in one component or module is called encapsulation
  • OOP components are reusable software modules which present an interface that conforms to an object model and which are accessed at run-time through a component integration architecture
  • a component integration architecture is a set of architecture mechanisms which allow software modules in different process spaces to utilize each others capabilities or functions This is generally done by assuming a common component object model on which to build the architecture
  • An object is a single instance of the class of objects, which is often just called a class A class of objects can be viewed as a blueprint, from which many objects can be formed
  • OOP allows the programmer to create an object that is a part of another object
  • the object representing a piston engine is said to have a composition-relationship with the object representing a piston
  • a piston engine comprises a piston, valves and many other components, the fact that a piston is an element of a piston engine can be logically and semantically represented in OOP by two objects
  • OOP also allows creation of an object that "depends from" another object If there are two objects, one representing a piston engine and the other representing a piston engine wherein the piston is made of ceramic, then the relationship between the two objects is not that of composition
  • a ceramic piston engine does not make up a piston engine Rather it is merely one kind of piston engine that has one more limitation than the piston engine, its piston is made of ceramic
  • the object representing the ceramic piston engine is called a derived object, and it inherits all of the aspects of the object representing the piston engine and adds further limitation or detail to it
  • the object representing the ceramic piston engine "depends from” the object representing the piston engine
  • inheritance inheritance
  • the object or class representing the ceramic piston engine inherits all of the aspects of the objects representing the piston engine, it inherits the thermal characteristics of a standard piston defined in the piston engine class
  • the ceramic piston engine object over ⁇ des these ceramic specific thermal characteristics, which are typically different from those associated with a metal piston It skips over the original and uses new functions related to ceramic pistons
  • Different kinds of piston engines have different characte ⁇ stics, but may have the same underlying functions associated with it (e g , how many pistons in the engine, ignition sequences, lub ⁇ cation, etc )
  • a programmer would call the same functions with the same names but each type of piston engine may have different/overriding implementations of functions behind the same name This ability to hide different implementations of a function behind the same name is called polymorphism and it greatly simplifies communication among objects
  • composition-relationship With the concepts of composition-relationship, encapsulation, inhentance and polymorphism, an object can represent just about anything in the real world In fact, our logical perception of the reality is the only limit on determining the kinds of things that can become objects in object-o ⁇ ented software Some typical catego ⁇ es are as follows
  • Objects can represent physical objects, such as automobiles in a traffic-flow simulation, electncal components in a circuit-design program, count ⁇ es in an economics model, or aircraft in an air-traffic-control system
  • Objects can represent elements of the computer-user environment such as windows, menus or graphics objects
  • An object can represent an inventory, such as a personnel file or a table of the latitudes and longitudes of cities •
  • An object can represent user-defined data types such as time, angles, and complex numbers, or points on the plane
  • OOP allows the software developer to design and implement a computer program that is a model of some aspects of reality, whether that reality is a physical entty, a process, a system, or a composition of matter Since the object can represent anything, the software developer can create an object which can be used as a component in a larger software project in the future
  • OOP enables software developers to build objects out of other, previously built, objects
  • Encapsulation enforces data abstraction through the organization of data into small, independent objects that can communicate with each other Encapsulation protects the data in an object from accidental damage, but allows other objects to interact with that data by calling the object's member functions and structures
  • Class hierarchies and containment hierarchies provide a flexible mechanism for modeling real-world objects and the relationships among them
  • Class libraries are very flexible As programs grow more complex, more programmers are forced to adopt basic solutions to basic problems over and over again A relatively new extension of the class library concept is to have a framework of class libranes This framework is more complex and consists of significant collections of collaborating classes that capture both the small scale patterns and major mechanisms that implement the common requirements and design in a specific application domain They were first developed to free application programmers from the chores involved in displaying menus, windows, dialog boxes, and other standard user interface elements for personal computers
  • Frameworks also represent a change in the way programmers think about the interaction between the code they write and code wntten by others
  • the programmer called libraries provided by the operating system to perform certain tasks, but basically the program executed down the page from start to finish, and the programmer was solely responsible for the flow of control This was approp ⁇ ate for printing out paychecks, calculating a mathematical table, or solving other problems with a program that executed in just one way
  • the development of graphical user interfaces began to turn this procedural programming arrangement inside out These interfaces allow the user, rather than program logic, to d ⁇ ve the program and decide when certain actions should be performed
  • Today, most personal computer software accomplishes this by means of an event loop which monitors the mouse, keyboard, and other sources of external events and calls the appropnate parts of the programmer's code according to actions that the user performs
  • the programmer no longer determines the order in which events occur Instead, a program is divided into separate pieces that are called at unpredictable times and in an unpredictable order By relinquishing control in this
  • event loop programs require programmers to w ⁇ te a lot of code that should not need to be wntten separately for every application
  • the concept of an application framework car ⁇ es the event loop concept further Instead of dealing with all the nuts and bolts of constructing basic menus, windows, and dialog boxes and then making these things all work together, programmers using application frameworks start with working application code and basic user interface elements in place Subsequently, they build from there by replacing some of the generic capabilities of the framework with the specific capabilities of the intended application
  • Application frameworks reduce the total amount of code that a programmer has to write from scratch
  • the framework is really a gene ⁇ c application that displays windows, supports copy and paste, and so on
  • the programmer can also relinquish control to a greater degree than event loop programs permit
  • the framework code takes care of almost all event handling and flow of control, and the programmer's code is called only when the framework needs it (e g , to create or manipulate a prop ⁇ etary data structure)
  • a programmer writing a framework program not only relinquishes control to the user (as is also true for event loop programs), but also relinquishes the detailed flow of control within the program to the framework This approach allows the creation of more complex systems that work together in interesting ways, as opposed to isolated programs, having custom code, being created over and over again for similar problems
  • a framework basically is a collection of cooperating classes that make up a reusable design solution for a given problem domain It typically includes objects that provide default behavior (e g , for menus and windows), and programmers use it by inheriting some of that default behavior and overriding other behavior so that the framework calls application code at the appropriate times
  • a framework embodies the way a family of related programs or pieces of software work It represents a genenc design solution that can be adapted to a variety of specific problems in a given domain For example, a single framework can embody the way a user interface works, even though two different user interfaces created with the same framework might solve quite different interface problems
  • a preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to implement documents on the Internet together with a general-purpose secure communication protocol for a transport medium between the client and the Newco HTTP or other protocols could be readily substituted for HTML without undue experimentation Information on these products is available in T Berners-Lee, D Connoly, "RFC 1866 Hypertext Markup Language - 20" (Nov 1995), and R Fielding, H, Frystyk, T Berners-Lee, J Gettys and J C Mogul, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP/1 1 HTTP Working Group Internet Draft" (May 2, 1996) HTML is a simple data format used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to another HTML documents are SGML documents with genenc semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains HTML has been in use by the World- Wide Web global information initiative since 1990 HTML is an application of
  • HTML has been the dominant technology used in development of Web-based solutions
  • HTML has proven to be inadequate in the following areas Poor performance, Restricted user interface capabilities, • Can only produce static Web pages,
  • Sun Microsystem's Java language solves many of the client-side problems by • Improving performance on the client side
  • Sun's Java language has emerged as an industry-recognized language for "programming the Internet " Sun defines Java as "a simple, object-o ⁇ ented, dist ⁇ ubbed, interpreted, robust, secure, architecture-neutral, portable, high-performance, multithreaded, dynamic, buzzword-compliant, general-purpose programming language Java supports programming for the internet in the form of platform-independent Java applets " Java applets are small, specialized applications that comply with Sun's Java Application Programming Interface (API) allowing developers to add "interactive content” to Web documents (e g simple animations, page adornments, basic games, etc ) Applets execute within a Java-compatible browser (e g Netscape Navigator) by copying code from the server to client From a language standpoint, Java's core feature set is based on C++ Sun's Java literature states that Java is basically "C++, with extensions from Objective C for more dynamic method resolution"
  • Java Java Application Programming Interface
  • ActiveX includes tools for developing animation, 3-D virtual reality, video and other multimedia content
  • the tools use Internet standards, work on multiple platforms, and are being supported by over 100 companies
  • the group's building blocks are called ActiveX Controls, small, fast components that enable developers to embed parts of software in hypertext markup language (HTML) pages
  • ActiveX Controls work with a va ⁇ ety of programming languages including Microsoft Visual C++, Borland Delphi, Microsoft Visual Basic programming system and, in the future, Microsoft's development tool for Java, code named "Jakarta " ActiveX Technologies also includes ActiveX Server Framework, allowing developers to create server applications
  • ActiveX could be substituted for JAVA without undue expe ⁇ mentation to practice the invention
  • BackgroundFinder is implemented as an agent responsible for preparing an individual for an upcoming meeting by helping him/her retrieve relevant information about the meeting from various sources BF receives input text in character form indicative of the target meeting
  • the input text is generated in accordance with a preferred embodiment by a calendar program that includes the time of the meeting
  • the calendar program is que ⁇ ed to obtain the text of the target event and that information is utilized as input to the agent
  • the agent parses the input meeting text to extract its va ⁇ ous components such as title, body, participants, location, time etc
  • the system also performs pattern matching to identify particular meeting fields in a meeting text
  • This information is utilized to query va ⁇ ous sources of information on the web and obtain relevant stones about the current meeting to send back to the calenda ⁇ ng system For example, if an individual has a meeting with Netscape and Microsoft to talk about their disputes, and would obtain this initial information from the calendaring system It will then parse out the text to realize that the companies in the meeting are "Netscape" and "
  • a computer program in accordance with a preferred embodiment is organized in five distinct modules BF Main, BF Parse, Background Finder Error, BF PatternMatching and BF Search There is also a frmMain which provides a user interface used only for debugging purposes
  • the executable programs in accordance with a preferred embodiment never execute with the user interface and should only return to the calendaring system through Microsoft's Winsock control
  • a preferred embodiment of the system executes in two different modes which can be specified under the command line sent to it by the calenda ⁇ ng system When the system runs in simple mode, it executes a keyword query to submit to external search engines When executed in complex mode, the system performs pattern matching before it forms a query to be sent to a search engine
  • tMeetingRecord The user-defined structure, tMeetingRecord, is used to store all the pertinent information concerning a single meeting
  • This info includes userlD, an o ⁇ ginal desc ⁇ pbon of the meeting, the extracted list of keywords from the title and body of meeting etc
  • tMeetingRecord Only one meeting record is created per instance of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment This is because each time the system is spawned to service an upcoming meeting, it is assigned a task to ret ⁇ eve information for only one meeting Therefore, the meeting record created corresponds to the current meeting examined ParseMeetingText populates this meeting record and it is then passed around to provide information about the meeting to other functions
  • the record tAPatternRecord is an array containing all the components / elements of a pattern
  • the type tAPatternElement is an array of strings which represent an element in a pattern Because there may be many "substitutes" for each element, we need an array of strings to keep track of what all the substitutes are
  • the structures of tAPatternElement and tAPatternRecord are presented below in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the Alta Vista search engine utilizes the identifies and returns general information about topics related to the current meeting as shown in function block 270 of Figure 2
  • the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment takes all the keywords from the title portion of the original meeting text and constructs an advanced query to send to Alta Vista
  • the keywords are logically combined together in the query
  • the results are also ranked based on the same set of keywords
  • a date restnction or publisher c ⁇ te ⁇ a could be facilitated on the articles we want to retrieve
  • a set of top ranking stones are returned to the calenda ⁇ ng system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the NewsPage search system is responsible for giving us the latest news topics related to a target meeting
  • the system takes all of the keywords from the title portion of the o ⁇ gmal meeting text and constructs a query to send to the NewsPage search engine
  • the keywords are logically combined together in the query Only articles published recently are ret ⁇ eved
  • the Newspage search system provides a date restnction c ⁇ te ⁇ a that is settable by a user according to the user's preference
  • the top ranking stories are returned to the calendaring system
  • Figure 3 is a user profile data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment Processing commences at function block 300 which is responsible for invoking the program from the mam module Then, at function block 310, a wrapper function is invoked to prepare for the keyword extraction processing in function block 320 After the keywords are extracted, then processing flows to function block 330 to determine if the delimiters are properly positioned Then, at function block 340, the number of words in a particular stnng is calculated and the delimiters for the particular field are and a particular field from the meeting text is ret ⁇ eved at function block 350 Then, at function block 380, the delimiters of the st ⁇ ng are again checked to assure they are placed approp ⁇ ately Finally, at function block 360, the extraction of each word from the title and body of the message is performed a word at a time utilizing the logic in function block 362 which finds the next closest word delimiter in the input phrase, function block 364 which stnps unnecessary mate ⁇ als from a word
  • a simple search method in accordance with a preferred embodiment only uses the keywords from a meeting title to form queries to send to Alta Vista and NewsPage This ignores an alternative source of information for the query, the body of the meeting notice We cannot include the keywords from the meeting body to form our queries because this often results in queries which are too long and so complex that we often obtain no meaningful results 3
  • a simplistic search has no way knowing that "Andy Grove” is in fact a person's name Imagine the possibilities if we could somehow intelligently guess that "Andy Grove” is a person's name We can find out if he is an
  • Pattern matching is based on a set of templates that we specify, allowing us to identify people names, company names etc from a meeting text
  • a pattern in the context of a preferred embodiment is a template specifying the structure of a phrase we are looking for in a meeting text
  • the patterns supported by a preferred embodiment are selected because they are templates of phrases which have a high probability of appea ⁇ ng in someone's meeting text
  • a common pattern would then be something like the word "with” followed by a person's name (in this example it is Bob Dutton) followed by the word "from” and ending with an organization's name (in this case, it is Stanford University)
  • Pattern a pattern is a template specifying the structure of a phrase we want to bind the meeting text to It contains sub units ⁇ Element a pattern can contain many sub-units These subunits are called elements For example, in the pattern "with
  • $PEOPLE$ from $COMPANY$", "with” "$PEOPLE$” "from” "$COMPANY$” are all elements ⁇ Placeholder a placeholder is a special kind of element in which we want to bind a value to Using the above example, "$PEOPLE$" is a placeholder
  • an indicator is another kind of element which we want to find in a meeting text but no value needs to bind to it There may be often more than one indicator we are looking for in a certain pattern That is why an indicator is not an "atomic" type
  • Substitute substitutes are a set of indicators which are all synonyms of each other Finding any one of them in the input is good
  • $TOPIC_UPPER$ binds a st ⁇ ng of capitalized words for our topic (e g ⁇ Stanford Engineering Recru ⁇ t ⁇ ng> Meeting to talk about new hires)
  • $TOPIC_ALL$ binds a string of words without really ca ⁇ ng if it's capitalized or not (e g Meet to talk about
  • ⁇ ub ⁇ qu ⁇ tous a table representing all the patterns supported by BF Each pattern belongs to a pattern group All patterns within a pattern group share a similar format and they only differ from each other in terms of what indicators are used as substitutes Note that the patterns which are grayed out are also commented in the code BF has the capability to support these patterns but we decided that matching these pattems is not essential at this point
  • FIG. 4 is a detailed flowchart of pattern matching in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at function block 400 where the main program invokes the pattern matching application and passes control to function block 410 to commence the pattern match processing. Then, at function block 420, the wrapper function loops through to process each pattern which includes determining if a part of the text string can be bound to a pattern as shown in function block 430. Then, at function block 440, various placeholders are bound to values if they exist, and in function block 441 , a list of names separated by punctuation are bound, and at function block 442 a full name is processed by finding two capitalized words as a full name and grabbing the next letter after a space after a word to determine if it is capitalized.
  • function block 443 time is parsed out of the string in an appropriate manner and the next word after a blank space in function block 444.
  • function block 445 the continuous phrases of capitalized words such as company, topic or location are bound and in function block 446, the next word after the blank is obtained for further processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • function block 450 is utilized to loacte an indicator which is the head of a pattern, the next word after the blank is obtained as shown in function block 452 and the word is checked to determine if the word is an indicator as shown in function block 454.
  • the string is parsed to locate an indicator which is not at the end of the pattern and the next word after unnecessary white space such as that following a line feed or a carriage return is processed as shown in function block 462 and the word is analyzed to determine if it is an indicator as shown in function block 464.
  • the temporary record is reset to the null set to prepare it for processing the next string and at function block 480, the meeting record is updated and at function block 482 a check is performed to determine if an entry is already made to the meeting record before parsing the meeting record again.
  • FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the detailed processing for prepa ⁇ ng a query and obtaining information from the Internet in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Processing commences at function block 500 and immediately flows to function block 510 to process the wrapper functionality to prepare for an Internet search utilizing a web search engine If the search is to utilize the Alta Vista search engine, then at function block 530, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 540 to 560 for submittal to the search engine If the search is to utilize the NewsPage search engine, then at function block 520, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 521 to 528
  • Alta Vista search engine provides enhanced flexibility Using its advance query method, one can construct all sorts of Boolean quenes and rank the search however you want However, one of the biggest drawbacks with Alta
  • Vista is that it is not very good at handling a large query and is likely to give back irrelevant results If we can identify the topic and the company within a meeting text, we can form a pretty short but comprehensive query which will hopefully yield better results We also want to focus on the topics found It may not be of much me ⁇ t to the user to find out info about a company especially if the user already knows the company well and has had numerous meetings with them It's the topics they want to research on
  • BF PattemMatch is first initialized to create all the potential patterns that portions of the meeting text can bind to
  • a pattern can contain however many elements as needed
  • the first type of elements are indicators These are real words which delimit the potential of a meeting field (eg company) to follow Most of these indicators are stop words as expected because stop words are words usually common to all meeting text so it makes sense they form patterns
  • the second type of elements are special st ⁇ ngs which represent placeholders
  • a placeholder is always in the form of $*$ where * can be either PEOPLE, COMPANY, TOPIC JPPER, TIME,LOCATION or TOPIC_ALL
  • a pattern can begin with either one of the two types of elements and can be however long, involving however any number/type of elements
  • This procedure dynamically creates a new pattern record for each pattern in the table and it also dynamically creates new tAPatternElements for each element within a pattern
  • SwitchFace (Denise is more normal and calls it GetAWordFromSt ⁇ ng) if this finds words, then each of these will be sent, in turn, down the chain. If these get through the entire chain without being added or killed then they added rather than tossed
  • Figure 6 is a flowchart of the actual code utilized to prepare and submit searches to the Alta Vista and Newspage search engines in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • Processing commences at function block 610 where a command line is utilized to update a calendar entry with specific calendar information
  • the message is next posted in accordance with function block 620 and a meeting record is created to store the current meeting information in accordance with function block 630
  • funcbon block 640 the query is submitted to the Alta Vista search engine and in function block 650, the query is submitted to the Newspage search engine
  • a message is returned from the search engine, it is stored in a results data structure as shown in function block 660 and the information is processed and stored in summary form in a file for use in preparation for the meeting as detailed in function block 670
  • Figure 7 provides more detail on creating the query in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • Processing commences at function block 710 where the meeting record is parsed to obtain potential companies, people, topics, location and a bme. Then, in function block 720, at least one topic is identified and in function block 720, at least one company name is identified and finally in function block 740, a decision is made on what material to transmit to the file for ultimate consumption by the user
  • Figure 8 is a vanation on the query theme presented in Figure 7.
  • a meebng record is parsed in funcbon block 800, a company is idenbfied in function block 820, a topic is identified in function block 830 and finally in funcbon block 840 the topic and or the company is utilized in formulating the query.
  • BindName, BindTime, BindCompanyLocTopic which are responsible for associating a value with a placeholder can be enhanced.
  • the enhancement is realized by increasing the set of criteria for binding a certain meeting field in order to increase the number of binding values. For example, BindTime currently accepts and binds all values in the form of ##:## or #:##.
  • BindTime To increase the times we can bind, we may want BindTime to also accept the numbers 1 to 12 followed by the more aesthetic time terminology “o'clock " Vocabulary based recognition algorithms and assigning an accuracy rate to each guess BF makes allowing only guesses which meet a certain threshold to be valid
  • a system in accordance with a preferred embodiment suggests a plurality of fine restaurants whenever it detects the words lunch/dinner/breakfast.
  • FIG. 9 is a flow diagram that depicts the hardware and logical flow of control for a device and a software system designed to allow Web-based compa ⁇ son shopping in conventional, physical, non-Web retail environments.
  • a wireless phone or similar hand-held wireless device 920 with Internet Protocol capability is combined with a miniature barcode reader 910 (installed either inside the phone or on a short cable) and used to scan the Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code on a book or other product 900.
  • the wireless device 920 transmits the bar code via an antennae 930 to the Pocket BargainFinder Service Module (running on a Web server) 940, which converts it to (in the case of books) its International Standard Book Number or (in the case of other products) whatever identifier is approp ⁇ ate.
  • the Service Module then contacts the appropriate third-party Web s ⁇ te(s) to find price, shipping and availability information on the product from various Web suppliers 950. This information is formatted and displayed on the hand-held device's screen.
  • the IP wireless phone or other hand held device 920 utilizes a wireless modem such as a Ricochet SE Wireless Modem from Metricom. Utilizing this device, a user can hang out in a coffee shop with a portable computer perched on a rickety little table, with a latte sloshing dangerously close to the keyboard, and access the Internet at speeds rivaling direct connect via a telephone line
  • the 8-ounce Ricochet SE Wireless Modem is about as large as a pack of cigarettes and setup is extremely simple, simply attach the modem to the back of your portable's screen with the included piece of Velcro, plug the cable into the se ⁇ al port, flip up the stubby antenna, and transmit.
  • Software setup is equally easy: a straightforward installer adds the Ricochet modem drivers and places the connection icon on your desktop.
  • the functional aspects of the modem are identical to that of a traditional telephone modem.
  • a user may utilize the web server software 940 to identify the ⁇ ght product 950 and then use an appropriate device's key(s) to select a supplier and place an order in accordance with a preferred embodiment.
  • the BargainFinder Service Module then consummates the order with the appropriate third-party Web supplier 960.
  • mySite! is a high-impact, Internet-based application in accordance with a preferred embodiment that is focused on the theme of delive ⁇ ng services and providing a personalized experience for each customer via a personal web site in a buyer-cent ⁇ c world
  • the services are intuitively organized around satisfying customer intentions - fundamental life needs or objectives that require extensive planning decisions, and coordination across several dimensions, such as financial planning, healthcare, personal and professional development, family life, and other concerns
  • customer intentions - fundamental life needs or objectives that require extensive planning decisions, and coordination across several dimensions, such as financial planning, healthcare, personal and professional development, family life, and other concerns
  • Each member owns and maintains his own profile, enabling him to create and browse content in the system targeted specifically at him
  • intelligent agents are utilized to conduct research, execute transactions and provide advice
  • advanced profiling and filte ⁇ ng the intelligent agents learn about the user, improving the services they deliver
  • mySite 1 represents a value-added and mnovabve way to effectively attract, service, and retain customers
  • Intention value networks allow a user to enter through a personalized site and, and with the assistance of a leaming, intelligent agent, seamlessly interact with network participants
  • An intention value network in accordance with a preferred embodiment provides superior value It provides twenty four hour a day, seven days a week access to customized information, advice and products The information is personalized so that each member views content that is highly customized to assure relevance to the required target user
  • An Egocentnc Interface is a user interface crafted to satisfy a particular user's needs, preferences and current context It utilizes the user's personal information that is stored in a central profile database to customize the interface
  • the user can set secu ⁇ ty permissions on and preferences for interface elements and content
  • the content integrated into the Egocentric Interface is customized with related information about the user
  • the Egocentnc Interface will include the relationship between that content and the user in a way that demonstrates how the content relates to the user For instance, when displaying information about an upcoming ski t ⁇ p the user has signed up for, the interface will include information about events from the user's personal calendar and contact list, such as other people who will be in the area during the ski trip This serves to put the new piece of information into a context familiar to the individual user
  • Figure 10A descnbes the Intention Value Network Architecture implementation for the World Wide Web For simplification purposes, this diagram ignores the complexity pertaining to secu ⁇ ty, scalability and p ⁇ vacy
  • the customer can access the Intention Value Network with any Internet web browser 1010, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, running on a personal computer connected to the Internet or a Personal Digital Assistant with wireless capability See Figure 17 for a more detailed descnption of the multiple methods for accessing an Intention Value Network
  • the customer accesses the Intention Value Network through the unique name or IP address associated with the Integrators Web Server 1020
  • the Integrator creates the Intention Value Network using a combinabon of resources, such as the Intention Database 1030, the Content Database 1040, the Supplier Profile Database 1050, and the Customer Profile Database 1060
  • the Intention Database 1030 stores all of the information about the structure of the intention and the types of products and services needed to fulfill the intention Information in this database includes intention steps, areas of interest, layout templates and personalization templates.
  • the Content Database 1040 stores all of the information related to the intention, such as advice, referral information, personalized content, satisfaction ratings, product ratings and progress reports.
  • the Supplier Profile Database 1050 contains information about the product and service providers integrated into the intention The information contained in this database provides a link between the intention framework and the suppliers. It includes product lists, features and desc ⁇ ptions, and addresses of the suppliers' product web sites.
  • the Customer Profile Database 1060 contains personal information about the customers, such as name, address, social secu ⁇ ty number and credit card information, personal preferences, behavioral information, history, and web site layout preferences.
  • the Supplier's Web Server 1070 provides access to all of the supplier's databases necessary to provide information and transacbonal support to the customer.
  • the Product Information Database 1080 stores all product-related information, such as features, availability and p ⁇ cing.
  • the Product Order Database 1090 stores all customer orders.
  • the interface to this database may be through an Enterp ⁇ se Resource Planning application offered by SAP, Baan, Oracle or others, or it may be accessible directly through the Supplier's Web Server or application server.
  • the Customer Informabon Database 1091 stores all of the customer informabon that the supplier needs to complete a transaction or maintain customer records
  • FIG. 10B is a flowchart providing the logic utilized to create a web page within the Egocentnc Interface.
  • the environment assumes a web server and a web browser connected through a TCP/IP network, such as over the public Internet or a p ⁇ vate Intranet.
  • Possible web servers could include Microsoft Internet Information Server, Netscape Enterprise Server or Apache.
  • Possible web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator.
  • the client i e. web browser
  • the web server gets the layout and content preferences 1002 for that particular user, with the request to the database keyed off of a unique user id stored in the client (i.e. web browser) and the User profile database 1003.
  • the web server then retrieves the content 1004 for the page that has been requested from the content database 1005.
  • the relevant user-centric content, such as calendar, email, contact list, and task list items are then retrieved 1006 (See Figure 11 for a more detailed description of this process )
  • the query to the database utilizes the user content preferences stored as part of the user profile in the User profile database 1003 to filter the content that is returned
  • the content that is returned is then formatted into a web page 1007 according to the layout preferences defined in the user profile
  • the web page is then returned to the client and displayed to the user 1008.
  • Figure 11 descnbes the process of retrieving user-centnc content to add to a web page. This process describes 1006 in Figure 10B in a more detailed fashion. It assumes that the server already has obtained the user profile and the exishng content that is going to be integrated into this page. The server parses 1110 the filtered content, looking for instances of events, contact names and email addresses. If any of these are found, they are tagged and stored in a temporary holding space Then, the server tries to find any user-centnc content 1120 stored in va ⁇ ous databases.
  • the system allows the user to create a number of different personas that aggregate profile information into sets that are useful in different contexts
  • a user may create one persona when making purchases for his home This persona may contain his home address and may indicate that this user is looking to find a good bargain when shopping The same user may create a second persona that can be used when he is in a work context This persona may store the user s work address and may indicate that the user prefers certain vendors or works for a certain company that has a discount program in place When shopping for work- related items, the user may use this persona
  • a persona may also contain rules and restrictions For instance, the work persona may rest ⁇ ct the user to making airline reservations with only one travel agent and utilizing booking rules set up by his employer
  • Figure 12 describes the relationship between a user, his multiple personas and his multiple profiles At the User Level is the
  • User Profile 1200 This profile descnbes the user and his account information There is one unique record in the database for each user who has an account Attached to each user are multiple Personas 1220, 1230 & 1240 These Personas are used to group multiple Profiles into useful contexts For instance, consider a user who lives in San Francisco and works in Palo Alto, but has a mountain cabin in Lake Tahoe He has three different contexts in which he might be accessing his site One context is work-related The other two are home-life related, but in different locations The user can create a Persona for Work 1220, a
  • Each Persona references a different General Profile 1250, 1260 and 1270 which contains the address for that location Hence, there are three General Profiles Each Persona also references one of two Travel Profiles
  • the user maintains a Work Travel Profile 1280 that contains all of the business rules related to booking tickets and making reservations This Profile may specify, for instance, that this person only travels in Business or First Class and his preferred airline is United Airlines
  • the Work Persona references this Work Travel Profile
  • the user may also maintain a Home Travel Profile 1290 that specifies that he prefers to travel in coach and wants to find non- refundable fairs, since they are generally cheaper Both the Persona for Home and the Persona for the cabin home point to the Home Travel Profile
  • Figure 13 describes the data model that supports the Persona concept
  • the user table 1310 contains a record for each user who has an account in the system This table contains a username and a password 1320 as well as a unique identifier
  • Each user can have multiple Personas 1330, which act as containers for more specialized structures called Profiles 1340.
  • Profiles contain the detailed personal information in Profile Field 1350 records Attached to each Profile are sets of Profile Rest ⁇ cbon 1360 records These each contain a Name 1370 and a Rule 1380, which define the restnction
  • the Rule is in the form of a pattern like (if x then y), which allows the Rule to be rest ⁇ cted to certain uses
  • An example Profile Restriction would be the rule that dictates that the user cannot book a flight on a certain airline contained in the list This Profile Restnction could be contained in the "Travel" Profile of the "Work" Persona set up by the user's employer, for instance
  • Each Profile Field also contains a set of Permissions 1390 that are contained in that record These permissions dictate who has what access ⁇ ghts to that particular Profile Field's information
  • Satisfying Customer Intentions such as Planning for Retirement or Relocating requires a specialized interface
  • Customer Intentions require extensive planning and coordination across many areas, ranging from financial security, housing and transportation to healthcare, personal and professional development, and entertainment, among others Satisfying intentions requires a network of complementary businesses, working across industries, to help meet consumers' needs
  • An Intention-Centric Interface is a user interface designed to help the user manage personal Intentions
  • the interface content is customized to show only content that relates to that particular Intention
  • the Intenbon-Cent ⁇ c Interface allows the user to manage the process of satisfying that particular Intention This involves a se ⁇ es of discrete steps and a set of content areas the user can access
  • the user can also switch the interface to manage a different Intention, and this act will change the content of the interface to include only that content which is relevant to the satisfaction of the newly selected Intention
  • FIG 14 provides a detailed description of the data model needed to support an Intention-Cent ⁇ c Interface
  • Each User Persona 1410 (see Figure 13 for a more detailed descnption of the Persona data model ) has any number of active User Intentions 1420
  • Each active User Intention is given a Nickname 1430, which is the display name the user sees on the screen
  • Each active User Intention also contains a number of Data Fields 1440, which contain any user data collected throughout the interaction with the user For instance, if the user had filled out a form on the screen and one of the fields was Social Secu ⁇ ty
  • the Completion 1480 field indicates whether the user has completed the step Every User Intention is a user-specific version of a Genenc Intention 1490, which is the default model for that Intention for all users
  • the Generic Intention is customized through Custom Rules 1411 and 1412 that are attached to the sub-steps in the Intention These Custom Rules are patterns describing how the system will customize the Intention for each individual user using the individual user's profile information
  • An agent keeps track of key statistics for each user These statistics are used in a manner similar to the Tamagochi virtual reality pet toy to encourage certain behaviors from the user
  • the statistics that are recorded are frequency of login, frequency of rating of content such as news articles, and activity of agents, measured by the number of tasks which it performs in a certain pe ⁇ od This information is used by the system to emotionally appeal to the user to encourage certain behaviors
  • Figure 15 describes the process for generating the page that displays the agent's current statistics
  • the server ret ⁇ eves the users' statistics 1520 from the users' profile database
  • the server then performs the mathematical calculations necessary to create a normalized set of statistics 1540
  • the server retrieves the formulas 1550 from the content database 1560 that will be used to calculate the user-centnc statistics Graphs are then generated 1570 using the generic formulas and that user's statistics These graphs are inserted into a template to create the statistics page 1580 This page is then returned to the user 1590 Personalized Product Report Service
  • the system provide Consumer Report-like service that is customized for each user based on a user profile
  • the system records and provides ratings from users about product quality and desirability on a number of dimensions
  • the difference between this system and traditional product quality measurement services is that the ratings that come back to the users are personalized This service works by finding the people who have the closest match to the user s profile and have previously rated the product being asked for Using this algo ⁇ thm will help to ensure that the product reports sent back to the user only contain statistics from people who are similar to that user
  • Figure 16 describes the algorithm for determining the personalized product ratings for a user
  • the algo ⁇ thm retrieves the profiles 1620 from the profile database 1630 (which includes product ratings) of those users who have previously rated that product
  • the system ret ⁇ eves the default thresholds 1640 for the profile matching algo ⁇ thm from the content database 1650 It then maps all of the short list of users along several dimensions specified in the profile matching algo ⁇ thm 1660
  • the top n (specified previously as a threshold variable) nearest neighbors are then determined and a test is performed to decide if they are within distance y (also specified previously as a threshold variable) of the user s profile in the set 1670 using the results from the profile matching algo ⁇ thm If they are not within the threshold, then the threshold variables are relaxed 1680, and the test is run again This processing is repeated until the test returns true
  • the product rabngs from the smaller set of n nearest neighbors are then used to determine a number of product statistics 1690 along several dimensions Those
  • This system provides one central storage place for a person's profile
  • This storage place is a server available through the public Internet, accessible by any device that is connected to the Internet and has approp ⁇ ate access
  • numerous access devices can be used to customize services for the user based on his profile
  • a merchant's web site can use this profile to provide personalized content to the user
  • a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with Internet access can synchronize the person's calendar, email, contact list, task list and notes on the PDA with the version stored in the Internet site This enables the person to only have to maintain one version of this data in order to have it available whenever it is needed and in whatever formats it is needed
  • FIG. 17 presents the detailed logic associated with the many different methods for accessing this centrally stored profile
  • the profile database 1710 is the central storage place for the users' profile information
  • the profile gateway server 1720 receives all requests for profile informabon, whether from the user himself or merchants trying to provide a service to the user
  • the profile gateway server is responsible for ensuring that information is only given out when the profile owner specifically grants permission Any device that can access the public Internet 1730 over TCP/IP (a standard network communications protocol) is able to request information from the profile database via intelligent HTTP requests Consumers will be able to gain access to services from devices such as their televisions 1740, mobile phones, Smart Cards, gas meters, water meters, kitchen appliances, security systems, desktop computers, laptops, pocket organizers, PDAs, and their vehicles, among others Likewise, merchants 1750 will be able to access those profiles (given permission from the consumer who owns each profile), and will be able to offer customized, personalized services to consumers because of this
  • One possible use of the ubiquitous profile is for a hotel chain
  • a consumer can carry a Smart Card that holds a digital certificate uniquely identifying him
  • This Smart Card's digital certificate has been issued by the system and it recorded his profile information into the profile database
  • the consumer b ⁇ ngs this card into a hotel chain and checks in
  • the hotel employee swipes the Smart Card and the consumer enters his Pin number, unlocking the digital certificate
  • the certificate is sent to the profile gateway server (using a secure transmission protocol) and is authenticated
  • the hotel is then given access to a certain part of the consumer's profile that he has previously specified
  • the hotel can then ret ⁇ eve all of the consumer's billing information as well as preferences for hotel room, etc
  • the hotel can also access the consumer's movie and dining preferences and offer customized menus for both of them
  • the hotel can offer to send an email to the consumer's spouse letting him/her know the person checked into the hotel and is safe All transaction information can be uploaded to the consumer's profile after the hotel checks him in This will allow
  • the overall integrator system coordinates the delivery of products and services for a user
  • the integrator manages a network of approved suppliers providing products and services, both physical and virtual, to a user based on the user's preferences as reflected in the user's profile
  • the integrator manages the relationship between suppliers and consumers and coordinates the suppliers' fulfillment of consumers' intentions It does this by providing the consumer with information about products and suppliers and offering objective advice, among other things
  • Figure 18 discloses the detailed interaction between a consumer and the integrator involving one supplier
  • the user accesses a Web Browser 1810 and requests product and pricing information from the integrator
  • the request is sent from the user's browser to the integrator's Web/Application Server 1820
  • the user s preferences and personal information is obtained from an integrators customer profile database 1830 and returned to the Web/Application server
  • the requested product information is extracted from the supplier's product database 1840 and customized for the particular customer
  • the Web/Applicabon server updates the supplier's customer information database 1850 with the inquiry information about the customer
  • the product and pricing information is then formatted into a Web Page 1860 and returned to the customer's Web Browser
  • a suite of software agents running on the application and web servers are programmed to take care of repetitive or mundane tasks for the user
  • the agents work according to rules set up by the user and are only allowed to perform tasks explicitly defined by the user
  • the agents can take care of paying bills for the user, f ⁇ te ⁇ ng content and emails, and providing a summary view of tasks and agent activity
  • the user interface for the agent can be modified to suit the particular user
  • Figure 19 discloses the logic in accordance with a preferred embodiment processing by an agent to generate a verbal summary for the user
  • the server gets the user's agent preferences 1920, such as agent type, rules and summary level from the user profile database 1930
  • the server gets the content 1940, such as emails, to do list items, news, and bills, from the content database 1950
  • the agent parses all of this content, using the rules stored in the profile database, and summanzes the content 1960
  • the content is formatted into a web page 1970 according to a template
  • the text for the agent's speech is generated 1980, using the content from the content database 1990 and speech templates stored in the database This speech text is inserted into the web page 1995 and the page is returned to the user 1997
  • Figure 20 illustrates a display login in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the display is implemented as a Microsoft Internet Explorer application with an agent 2000 that guides a user through the process of interacting with the system to customize and personalize various system components to gather information and interact with the user s personal requirements
  • a user enters a usemame at 2010 and a password at 2020 and selects a button 2040 to initiate the login procedure As the logo
  • Figure 21 illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • a user is greeted by an animated agent 2100 with a personalized message 2190
  • the user can select from various activities based on requirements, including travel 2110, household chores 2120, finances 2130 and marketplace activities 2140
  • Icons 2142 for roubne tasks such as e-mail, calenda ⁇ ng and document preparation are also provided to facilitate rapid navigation from one activity to another
  • Direct links 2146 are also provided to allow transfer of news and other items of interest
  • Va ⁇ ous profiles can be selected based on where the user is located For example, work, home or vacation
  • the profiles can be added 2170 as a user requires a new profile for another location
  • Va ⁇ ous items 2180 of personal information are collected from the user to support various endeavors
  • permissions 2150 are set for items 2180 to assure information is timely and current
  • Figure 22 illustrates a user mam display in accordance with a preferred embodiment World 2200 and local news 2210 is provided based on a user's preference
  • the user has also selected real estate 2230 as an item to provide direct informabon on the main display
  • a different agent 2220 is provided based on the user's preference
  • Figure 23 illustrates an agent interaction in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the agent 2310 is communicating informabon 2300 to a user indicating that the user's life insurance needs have changed and pointing the user to the chart that best summanzes the information for the user Particular tips 2395 are provided to facilitate more detailed information based on current user stabsbcs
  • a chart 2370 of the user's life insurance needs is also highlighted at the center of the display to assist the user in determining appropriate action
  • a button 2380 is provided to facilitate changing the policy and a set of buttons 2390 are provided to assist a user in selecting va ⁇ ous views of the user's insurance requirements Event Backgrounder
  • An Event Backgrounder is a short description of an upcoming event that is sent to the user just before an event
  • the Event Backgrounder is constantly updated with the latest information related to this event Pertinent information such as itinerary and logisbcs are included, and other useful information, such as people the user knows who might be in the same location, are also included
  • the purpose of the Event Backgrounder is to provide the most up-to-date information about an event, drawing from a number of resources, such as public web sites and the user's calendar and contact lists, to allow the user to react optimally in a given situation
  • This software looks for opportunities to tell the user when a friend, family member or acquaintance is or is going to be in the same vicinity as the user
  • This software scans the user's calendar for upcoming events It then uses a geographic map to compare those calendar events with the calendar events of people who are listed in his contact list It then informs the user of any matches, thus telling the user that someone is scheduled to be near him at a particular time
  • a preferred embodiment demonstrates the intelligent information delivery theory described above in an attempt to not only reduce information overload, but to deliver high quality informabon where and when users' require it
  • the system delivers right information to the right person at the right time and the ⁇ ght place Active Knowledge Management System Description
  • Figure 24 is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the system consists of the following parts back-end 2400 connection to one or more servers, personal mobile wireless clients (Awareness Mach ⁇ ne)2430, 2436, public clients (Magic Wall) 2410, 2420, web clients 2446, 2448, e-mail clients 2450, 2460
  • FIG 25 is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the back-end (2400 of Figure 24) is a computer system that has the following software active Intelligent Agents Coordinator (Munin) 2580, Informabon P ⁇ o ⁇ tization Subsystem 2530, a set of continuously and pe ⁇ odically running infomiation gathe ⁇ ng and processing Intelligent Agents 2500, 2502 and 2504, User Profiles Database 2542 and supporting software, Information Channels Database 2542 and supporting software, communications software 2550, information transformation software 2560, and auxiliary software
  • the Awareness Machine is a combination of hardware device and software application
  • the hardware consists of handheld personal computer and wireless communications device
  • the Awareness Machine reflects a constantly updated state-of-the- owner's-world by continually receiving a wireless t ⁇ ckle of informabon
  • This informabon mined and processed by a suite of intelligent agents, consists of mail messages, news that meets each user's preferences, schedule updates, background information on upcoming meetings and events, as well as weather and traffic
  • the Awareness Machine is covered by another patent application
  • Figure 26 is a block diagram of a magic wall in accordance with a preferred embodiment
  • the Magic Wall hardware includes
  • Computer system 2640 connected to the back-end server • Sensor array 2634, 2630 and 2632 detects presence, position, and identity of a person
  • the Magic Wall operates as follows 1 If a user appears in the vicinity of Magic Wall the sensor array triggers 'user here" event that sends an environmental cue containing the person's id and the location to the Intelligent Agent Coordinator
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator decides if there is pertinent to that user and Magic Wall location time-sensitive information to show (e g traffic report, meeting reminder) If such information exists, it is prepared for delivery If not, control is transferred to the Information P ⁇ o ⁇ tizabon Subsystem 6 Informabon P ⁇ o ⁇ bzabon Subsystem decides what informabon is most relevant to the user based on their personal profile, freshness of the information, and the Intelligent Agent Coordinator's prior suggestions
  • Magic Wall recognizes the speech fragment and then identifies and shows the requested page
  • the Web client is a standard browser navigating to a set of Web pages which allow user to see the same information that is available via the Magic Wall
  • the e-mail client is any standard e-mail program
  • This piece of code is the coordinating agent (or meta-agent) for the Active Knowledge Management system This means that all communications between the system and each user, as well as communication between the different minion agents are handled (coordinated) by the Intelligent Agent Coordinator Examples of these minion agents are
  • BackgroundFinder an agent that parses meebng text determining important keywords and phrases and finds background informabon on the meebng for each user
  • TrafficFinder an agent that finds traffic information for each user based on where they live
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator 2580 of Figure 25 is also the user's "interface" to the system, in that whenever the user interacts with the system, regardless of the GUI or other end-user interface, they are ultimately dealing with (asking questions of or sending commands to) the Intelligent Agent Coordinator
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator has four pnmary responsibilities 1) monito ⁇ ng user activities, 2) handling information requests, 3) maintaining each user's profile, and 4) routing information to and from users and to and from the other respective agents
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator receives an "environmental cue " These cues not only enable the Intelligent Agent Coordinator to gam an understanding where users' are for information delivery purposes, but also to learn the standard patterns (ar ⁇ val time, departure time, etc ) of each persons' life These patterns are constantly being updated and refined in an attempt to increase the system's intelligence when delivering information For instance, today it is not uncommon for a person to have several email accounts (work-based, home-based, mobile-based, etc ) as well as several different computers involved in the ret ⁇ eval process for all of these accounts Thus, for the Intelligent Agent Coordinator to be successful in delive ⁇ ng information to the correct location it must take into account all of these accounts and the times that the user is likely to be accessing them in order to maximize the probability that the user will see the information This will be discussed further in another section
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator handles information requests from other agents in order to personalize information intended for each user and to more accurately reflect each user's interests in the information they are given These requests will commonly be related to the user's profile For instance, if an agent was prepa ⁇ ng a traffic report for a user it may request the traffic region (search string) of that user from the Intelligent Agent Coordinator All access to the user's profile data is accessed in this method
  • User profiles contain extensive information about the users This information is a blend of user-specified data and information that the Intelligent Agent Coordinator has learned and extrapolated from each user's information and activities In order to protect the data contained in the profiles, the intelligent Agent Coordinator must handle all user information requests
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator is constantly modifying and updating these profiles by watching the user's activities and attempbng to learn the patterns of their lives in order to assist in the more routine, mundane tasks
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator also employs other agents to glean meaning from each user's daily activities These agents mine this data trying to discover indications of current interests, long-term interests, as well as time delivery preferences for each type of information Another important aspect of the Intelligent Agent Coordinator's observations is that it also t ⁇ es to determine where each user is physically located throughout the day for roubng purposes
  • the Intelligent Agent Coordinator t ⁇ es to be sensitive to this fact by attempting to determine, both by observation (unsupervised learning) and from cues from the environment, where users are or are likely to be located This is certainly important for determining where to send the user's information, but also for determining in which format to send the information For instance, if a user were at her desk and using the web client, the Intelligent Agent Coordinator would be receiving indications of activity from her PC and would know to send any necessary informabon there In addition, because desktop PCs are generally quite powerful, a full-featured, graphically intense version could be sent However, consider an alternative situation the Intelligent Agent Coordinator has received an indication (via the keycard reader next to the exit) that you have just left the building Minutes later the Intelligent Agent Coordinator also receives notification that you have received an urgent message The Intelligent Agent Coordinator, knowing that you have left the building and having not received any other indications, assumes that you are reachable via your handheld device (for which it also knows the capabilities) and sends the text of the urgent message there
  • the Active Knowledge Management system represents some of the most advanced thinking in the world of knowledge management and human computer interaction Some of the pnmary innovations include the following • The Intelligent Agent Coordinator as illustrated above
  • Speech recognition and speech synthesis in combination with intelligent agent animated representation and tactile input provides for efficient, intuitive, and emotionally rewarding interaction with the system
  • ⁇ intention j ⁇ ame_short intentionjiame replace(/ /gi ") objConnection ExecuteflNSERT INTO intentions (intention ⁇ ame, ⁇ ntent ⁇ on_desc, ⁇ ntent ⁇ onjcon) values('" + intentionjiame + "','” + ⁇ ntenbon_desc + "','” + intention j ⁇ ame_short + " gif + "'))

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Abstract

A system is disclosed that facilitates a web-based user network interface is created by obtaining user profile information from a database of user profile information. Then, the system gathers behavioral information from the user profile information and statistically analyzes the behavioral information to generate graphs indicative of the user's interaction with applications which are presented on a display utilizing agent software. Agent software is also utilized to gather user profile information pertaining to application usage and agent utilization to determine characteristics of a user for use in tuning a consistent user interface to applications.

Description

COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS OF USER PROFILE INFORMATION
Field Of The Invention The present invention relates to agent based systems and more particularly to an agent based system for providing a statistical agent reporting system that executes in the background for a particular user
Agent based technology has become increasingly important for use with applications designed to interact with a user for performing various computer based tasks in foreground and background modes Agent software comprises computer programs that are set on behalf of users to perform routine, tedious and time-consuming tasks To be useful to an individual user, an agent must be personalized to the individual user's goals, habits and preferences Thus, there exists a substantial requirement for the agent to efficiently and effectively acquire user-specific knowledge from the user and utilize it to perform tasks on behalf of the user
The concept of agency, or the user of agents, is well established An agent is a person authorized by another person, typically referred to as a principal, to act on behalf of the principal In this manner the principal empowers the agent to perform any of the tasks that the principal is unwilling or unable to perform For example, an insurance agent may handle all of the insurance requirements for a principal, or a talent agent may act on behalf of a performer to arrange concert dates
With the advent of the computer, a new domain for employing agents has arrived Significant advances in the realm of expert systems enable computer programs to act on behalf of computer users to perform routine, tedious and other time-consuming tasks These computer programs are referred to as "software agents "
Moreover, there has been a recent proliferation of computer and communication networks These networks permit a user to access vast amounts of information and services without, essentially, any geographical boundaries Thus, a software agent has a nch environment to perform a large number of tasks on behalf of a user For example, it is now possible for an agent to make an airline reservation, purchase the ticket, and have the ticket delivered directly to a user Similarly, an agent could scan the Internet and obtain information ranging from the latest sports or news to a particular graduate thesis in applied physics Current solutions fail to apply agent technology to existing calendar technology to provide targeted acquisition of background information for a user's upcoming events
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to a broad aspect of a preferred embodiment of the invention, a user network interface is created by obtaining user profile information from a database of user profile information Then, the system gathers behavioral information from the user profile information and statistically analyzes the behavioral information to generate graphs indicative of the user's interaction with applications which are presented on a display utilizing agent software Agent software is also utilized to gather user profile information pertaining to application usage and agent utilization to determine characteristics of a user for use in tuning a consistent user interface to applications DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The foregoing and other objects, aspects and advantages are better understood from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention with reference to the drawings, in which
Figure 1 is a block diagram of a representative hardware environment in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 2 is a flowchart of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 3 is a flowchart of a parsing unit of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 4 is a flowchart for pattern matching in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figures 5 is a flowchart for a search unit in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 6 is a flowchart for overall system processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 7 is a flowchart of topic processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 8 is a flowchart of meeting record processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 9 is a block diagram of process flow of a pocket bargain finder in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 10A and 10B are a block diagram and flowchart depicting the logic associated with creating a customized content web page in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 11 is a flowchart depicting the detailed logic associated with retrieving user-centric content in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 12 is a data model of a user profile in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 13 is a persona data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 14 is an intention data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 15 is a flowchart of the processing for generating an agent's current statistics in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 16 is a flowchart of the logic that determines the personalized product rating for a user in accordance with a preferred embodiment, Figure 17 is a flowchart of the logic for accessing the centrally stored profile in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 18 is a flowchart of the interaction logic between a user and the integrator for a particular supplier in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 19 is a flowchart of the agent processing for generating a verbal summary in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Figure 20 illustrates a display login in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 21 illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 22 illustrates a user main display in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 23 illustrates an agent interaction display in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 24 is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment,
Figure 25 is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with a preferred embodiment, and
Figure 26 is a block diagram of a magic wall in accordance with a preferred embodiment
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A preferred embodiment of a system in accordance with the present invention is preferably practiced in the context of a personal computer such as an IBM compatible personal computer, Apple Macintosh computer or UNIX based workstation A representative hardware environment is depicted in Figure 1 , which illustrates a typical hardware configuration of a workstation in accordance with a preferred embodiment having a central processing unit 110, such as a microprocessor, and a number of other units interconnected via a system bus 112 The workstation shown in Figure 1 includes a Random Access Memory (RAM) 114, Read Only Memory (ROM) 116, an I/O adapter 118 for connecting peripheral devices such as disk storage units 120 to the bus 112, a user interface adapter 122 for connecting a keyboard 124, a mouse 126, a speaker 128, a microphone 132, and/or other user interface devices such as a touch screen (not shown) to the bus 112, communication adapter 134 for connecting the workstation to a communication network (e g , a data processing network) and a display adapter 136 for connecting the bus 112 to a display device 138 The workstation typically has resident thereon an operating system such as the Microsoft Windows NT or Windows/95 Operating System (OS), the IBM OS/2 operating system, the MAC OS, or UNIX operating system Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may also be implemented on platforms and operating systems other than those mentioned A preferred embodiment is wntten using JAVA, C, and the C++ language and utilizes object oriented programming methodology Object onented programming (OOP) has become increasingly used to develop complex applications As OOP moves toward the mainstream of software design and development, various software solutions require adaptation to make use of the benefits of OOP A need exists for these principles of OOP to be applied to a messaging interface of an electronic messaging system such that a set of OOP classes and objects for the messaging interface can be provided
OOP is a process of developing computer software using objects, including the steps of analyzing the problem, designing the system, and constructing the program An object is a software package that contains both data and a collection of related structures and procedures Since it contains both data and a collection of structures and procedures, it can be visualized as a self-sufficient component that does not require other additional structures, procedures or data to perform its specific task OOP, therefore, views a computer program as a collection of largely autonomous components, called objects, each of which is responsible for a specific task This concept of packaging data, structures, and procedures together in one component or module is called encapsulation
In general, OOP components are reusable software modules which present an interface that conforms to an object model and which are accessed at run-time through a component integration architecture A component integration architecture is a set of architecture mechanisms which allow software modules in different process spaces to utilize each others capabilities or functions This is generally done by assuming a common component object model on which to build the architecture
It is worthwhile to differentiate between an object and a class of objects at this point An object is a single instance of the class of objects, which is often just called a class A class of objects can be viewed as a blueprint, from which many objects can be formed
OOP allows the programmer to create an object that is a part of another object For example, the object representing a piston engine is said to have a composition-relationship with the object representing a piston In reality, a piston engine comprises a piston, valves and many other components, the fact that a piston is an element of a piston engine can be logically and semantically represented in OOP by two objects
OOP also allows creation of an object that "depends from" another object If there are two objects, one representing a piston engine and the other representing a piston engine wherein the piston is made of ceramic, then the relationship between the two objects is not that of composition A ceramic piston engine does not make up a piston engine Rather it is merely one kind of piston engine that has one more limitation than the piston engine, its piston is made of ceramic In this case, the object representing the ceramic piston engine is called a derived object, and it inherits all of the aspects of the object representing the piston engine and adds further limitation or detail to it The object representing the ceramic piston engine "depends from" the object representing the piston engine The relationship between these objects is called inheritance
When the object or class representing the ceramic piston engine inherits all of the aspects of the objects representing the piston engine, it inherits the thermal characteristics of a standard piston defined in the piston engine class However, the ceramic piston engine object overπdes these ceramic specific thermal characteristics, which are typically different from those associated with a metal piston It skips over the original and uses new functions related to ceramic pistons Different kinds of piston engines have different characteπstics, but may have the same underlying functions associated with it (e g , how many pistons in the engine, ignition sequences, lubπcation, etc ) To access each of these functions in any piston engine object, a programmer would call the same functions with the same names but each type of piston engine may have different/overriding implementations of functions behind the same name This ability to hide different implementations of a function behind the same name is called polymorphism and it greatly simplifies communication among objects
With the concepts of composition-relationship, encapsulation, inhentance and polymorphism, an object can represent just about anything in the real world In fact, our logical perception of the reality is the only limit on determining the kinds of things that can become objects in object-oπented software Some typical categoπes are as follows
• Objects can represent physical objects, such as automobiles in a traffic-flow simulation, electncal components in a circuit-design program, countπes in an economics model, or aircraft in an air-traffic-control system
• Objects can represent elements of the computer-user environment such as windows, menus or graphics objects
• An object can represent an inventory, such as a personnel file or a table of the latitudes and longitudes of cities • An object can represent user-defined data types such as time, angles, and complex numbers, or points on the plane
With this enormous capability of an object to represent just about any logically separable matters, OOP allows the software developer to design and implement a computer program that is a model of some aspects of reality, whether that reality is a physical entty, a process, a system, or a composition of matter Since the object can represent anything, the software developer can create an object which can be used as a component in a larger software project in the future
If 90% of a new OOP software program consists of proven, existing components made from preexisting reusable objects, then only the remaining 10% of the new software project has to be written and tested from scratch Since 90% already came from an inventory of extensively tested reusable objects the potential domain from which an error could originate is 10% of the program As a result, OOP enables software developers to build objects out of other, previously built, objects
This process closely resembles complex machinery being built out of assemblies and sub-assemblies OOP technology, therefore, makes software engineering more like hardware engineenng in that software is built from existing components, which are available to the developer as objects All this adds up to an improved quality of the software as well as an increased speed of its development
Programming languages are beginning to fully support the OOP principles, such as encapsulation, inhentance, polymorphism and composition-relationship With the advent of the C++ language, many commercial software developers have embraced OOP C++ is an OOP language that offers a fast, machine-executable code Furthermore, C++ is suitable for both commercial- application and systems-programming projects For now, C++ appears to be the most popular choice among many OOP programmers, but there is a host of other OOP languages, such as Smalltalk, common lisp object system (CLOS), and Eiffel Additionally, OOP capabilities are being added to more traditional popular computer programming languages such as Pascal The benefits of object classes can be summaπzed, as follows
• Objects and their corresponding classes break down complex programming problems into many smaller, simpler problems
• Encapsulation enforces data abstraction through the organization of data into small, independent objects that can communicate with each other Encapsulation protects the data in an object from accidental damage, but allows other objects to interact with that data by calling the object's member functions and structures
• Subclassing and inheritance make it possible to extend and modify objects through deriving new kinds of objects from the standard classes available in the system Thus, new capabilities are created without having to start from scratch
• Polymorphism and multiple inheritance make it possible for different programmers to mix and match characteπstics of many different classes and create specialized objects that can still work with related objects in predictable ways
• Class hierarchies and containment hierarchies provide a flexible mechanism for modeling real-world objects and the relationships among them
• Libranes of reusable classes are useful in many situations, but they also have some limitations For example
• Complexity In a complex system, the class hierarchies for related classes can become extremely confusing, with many dozens or even hundreds of classes
• Flow of control A program wntten with the aid of class libranes is still responsible for the flow of control (i e , it must control the interactions among all the objects created from a particular library) The programmer has to decide which functions to call at what times for which kinds of objects
• Duplication of effort Although class libraries allow programmers to use and reuse many small pieces of code, each programmer puts those pieces together in a different way Two different programmers can use the same set of class libranes to write two programs that do exactly the same thing but whose internal structure (i e , design) may be quite different, depending on hundreds of small decisions each programmer makes along the way Inevitably, similar pieces of code end up doing similar things in slightly different ways and do not work as well together as they should
Class libraries are very flexible As programs grow more complex, more programmers are forced to reinvent basic solutions to basic problems over and over again A relatively new extension of the class library concept is to have a framework of class libranes This framework is more complex and consists of significant collections of collaborating classes that capture both the small scale patterns and major mechanisms that implement the common requirements and design in a specific application domain They were first developed to free application programmers from the chores involved in displaying menus, windows, dialog boxes, and other standard user interface elements for personal computers
Frameworks also represent a change in the way programmers think about the interaction between the code they write and code wntten by others In the early days of procedural programming, the programmer called libraries provided by the operating system to perform certain tasks, but basically the program executed down the page from start to finish, and the programmer was solely responsible for the flow of control This was appropπate for printing out paychecks, calculating a mathematical table, or solving other problems with a program that executed in just one way The development of graphical user interfaces began to turn this procedural programming arrangement inside out These interfaces allow the user, rather than program logic, to dπve the program and decide when certain actions should be performed Today, most personal computer software accomplishes this by means of an event loop which monitors the mouse, keyboard, and other sources of external events and calls the appropnate parts of the programmer's code according to actions that the user performs The programmer no longer determines the order in which events occur Instead, a program is divided into separate pieces that are called at unpredictable times and in an unpredictable order By relinquishing control in this way to users, the developer creates a program that is much easier to use Nevertheless, individual pieces of the program wntten by the developer still call libranes provided by the operating system to accomplish certain tasks, and the programmer must still determine the flow of control within each piece after being called by the event loop Application code still "sits on top of the system
Even event loop programs require programmers to wπte a lot of code that should not need to be wntten separately for every application The concept of an application framework carπes the event loop concept further Instead of dealing with all the nuts and bolts of constructing basic menus, windows, and dialog boxes and then making these things all work together, programmers using application frameworks start with working application code and basic user interface elements in place Subsequently, they build from there by replacing some of the generic capabilities of the framework with the specific capabilities of the intended application
Application frameworks reduce the total amount of code that a programmer has to write from scratch However, because the framework is really a geneπc application that displays windows, supports copy and paste, and so on, the programmer can also relinquish control to a greater degree than event loop programs permit The framework code takes care of almost all event handling and flow of control, and the programmer's code is called only when the framework needs it (e g , to create or manipulate a propπetary data structure)
A programmer writing a framework program not only relinquishes control to the user (as is also true for event loop programs), but also relinquishes the detailed flow of control within the program to the framework This approach allows the creation of more complex systems that work together in interesting ways, as opposed to isolated programs, having custom code, being created over and over again for similar problems
Thus, as is explained above, a framework basically is a collection of cooperating classes that make up a reusable design solution for a given problem domain It typically includes objects that provide default behavior (e g , for menus and windows), and programmers use it by inheriting some of that default behavior and overriding other behavior so that the framework calls application code at the appropriate times
There are three main differences between frameworks and class libranes • Behavior versus protocol Class libranes are essentially collections of behaviors that you can call when you want those individual behaviors in your program A framework, on the other hand, provides not only behavior but also the protocol or set of rules that govern the ways in which behaviors can be combined, including rules for what a programmer is supposed to provide versus what the framework provides • Call versus ovemde With a class library, the code the programmer instantiates objects and calls their member functions It's possible to instantiate and call objects in the same way with a framework (i e , to treat the framework as a class library), but to take full advantage of a framework's reusable design, a programmer typically writes code that overrides and is called by the framework The framework manages the flow of control among its objects Writing a program involves dividing responsibilities among the various pieces of software that are called by the framework rather than specifying how the different pieces should work together
• Implementation versus design With class libraries, programmers reuse only implementations, whereas with frameworks, they reuse design A framework embodies the way a family of related programs or pieces of software work It represents a genenc design solution that can be adapted to a variety of specific problems in a given domain For example, a single framework can embody the way a user interface works, even though two different user interfaces created with the same framework might solve quite different interface problems
Thus through the development of frameworks for solutions to various problems and programming tasks, significant reductions in the design and development effort for software can be achieved A preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes HyperText Markup Language (HTML) to implement documents on the Internet together with a general-purpose secure communication protocol for a transport medium between the client and the Newco HTTP or other protocols could be readily substituted for HTML without undue experimentation Information on these products is available in T Berners-Lee, D Connoly, "RFC 1866 Hypertext Markup Language - 20" (Nov 1995), and R Fielding, H, Frystyk, T Berners-Lee, J Gettys and J C Mogul, "Hypertext Transfer Protocol - HTTP/1 1 HTTP Working Group Internet Draft" (May 2, 1996) HTML is a simple data format used to create hypertext documents that are portable from one platform to another HTML documents are SGML documents with genenc semantics that are appropriate for representing information from a wide range of domains HTML has been in use by the World- Wide Web global information initiative since 1990 HTML is an application of ISO Standard 8879 1986 Information Processing Text and Office Systems, Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML)
To date, Web development tools have been limited in their ability to create dynamic Web applications which span from client to server and interoperate with existing computing resources Until recently, HTML has been the dominant technology used in development of Web-based solutions However, HTML has proven to be inadequate in the following areas Poor performance, Restricted user interface capabilities, • Can only produce static Web pages,
Lack of interoperability with existing applications and data, and Inability to scale
Sun Microsystem's Java language solves many of the client-side problems by • Improving performance on the client side,
• Enabling the creation of dynamic, real-time Web applications, and
• Providing the ability to create a wide vaπety of user interface components With Java, developers can create robust User Interface (Ul) components Custom "widgets" (e g real-time stock tickers, animated icons, etc ) can be created, and client-side performance is improved Unlike HTML, Java supports the notion of client- side validation, offloading appropπate processing onto the client for improved performance Dynamic, real-bme Web pages can be created Using the above-mentioned custom Ul components, dynamic Web pages can also be created
Sun's Java language has emerged as an industry-recognized language for "programming the Internet " Sun defines Java as "a simple, object-oπented, distπbuted, interpreted, robust, secure, architecture-neutral, portable, high-performance, multithreaded, dynamic, buzzword-compliant, general-purpose programming language Java supports programming for the internet in the form of platform-independent Java applets " Java applets are small, specialized applications that comply with Sun's Java Application Programming Interface (API) allowing developers to add "interactive content" to Web documents (e g simple animations, page adornments, basic games, etc ) Applets execute within a Java-compatible browser (e g Netscape Navigator) by copying code from the server to client From a language standpoint, Java's core feature set is based on C++ Sun's Java literature states that Java is basically "C++, with extensions from Objective C for more dynamic method resolution"
Another technology that provides similar function to JAVA is provided by Microsoft and ActiveX Technologies, to give developers and
Web designers wherewithal to build dynamic content for the Internet and personal computers ActiveX includes tools for developing animation, 3-D virtual reality, video and other multimedia content The tools use Internet standards, work on multiple platforms, and are being supported by over 100 companies The group's building blocks are called ActiveX Controls, small, fast components that enable developers to embed parts of software in hypertext markup language (HTML) pages ActiveX Controls work with a vaπety of programming languages including Microsoft Visual C++, Borland Delphi, Microsoft Visual Basic programming system and, in the future, Microsoft's development tool for Java, code named "Jakarta " ActiveX Technologies also includes ActiveX Server Framework, allowing developers to create server applications One of ordinary skill in the art readily recognizes that ActiveX could be substituted for JAVA without undue expeπmentation to practice the invention
In accordance with a preferred embodiment, BackgroundFinder (BF) is implemented as an agent responsible for preparing an individual for an upcoming meeting by helping him/her retrieve relevant information about the meeting from various sources BF receives input text in character form indicative of the target meeting The input text is generated in accordance with a preferred embodiment by a calendar program that includes the time of the meeting As the time of the meeting approaches, the calendar program is queπed to obtain the text of the target event and that information is utilized as input to the agent Then, the agent parses the input meeting text to extract its vaπous components such as title, body, participants, location, time etc The system also performs pattern matching to identify particular meeting fields in a meeting text This information is utilized to query vaπous sources of information on the web and obtain relevant stones about the current meeting to send back to the calendaπng system For example, if an individual has a meeting with Netscape and Microsoft to talk about their disputes, and would obtain this initial information from the calendaring system It will then parse out the text to realize that the companies in the meeting are "Netscape" and "Microsoft" and the topic is "disputes " Then, the system queries the web for relevant information concerning the topic Thus, in accordance with an objective of the invention, the system updates the calendaπng system and eventually the user with the best information it can gather to prepare the user for the target meeting In accordance with a preferred embodiment, the information is stored in a file that is obtained via selection from a link imbedded in the calendar system PROGRAM ORGANIZATION
A computer program in accordance with a preferred embodiment is organized in five distinct modules BF Main, BF Parse, Background Finder Error, BF PatternMatching and BF Search There is also a frmMain which provides a user interface used only for debugging purposes The executable programs in accordance with a preferred embodiment never execute with the user interface and should only return to the calendaring system through Microsoft's Winsock control A preferred embodiment of the system executes in two different modes which can be specified under the command line sent to it by the calendaπng system When the system runs in simple mode, it executes a keyword query to submit to external search engines When executed in complex mode, the system performs pattern matching before it forms a query to be sent to a search engine
DATA STRUCTURES
The system in accordance with a preferred embodiment utilizes three user defined structures
1 TMeetingRecord,
2 TPatternEiement, and
3 TPatternRecord The user-defined structure, tMeetingRecord, is used to store all the pertinent information concerning a single meeting This info includes userlD, an oπginal descπpbon of the meeting, the extracted list of keywords from the title and body of meeting etc It is important to note that only one meeting record is created per instance of the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment This is because each time the system is spawned to service an upcoming meeting, it is assigned a task to retπeve information for only one meeting Therefore, the meeting record created corresponds to the current meeting examined ParseMeetingText populates this meeting record and it is then passed around to provide information about the meeting to other functions
If GoPatternMatch can bind any values to a particular meeting field, the corresponding entπes in the meeting record is also updated The structure of tMeetingRecord with each field described in parentheses is provided below in accordance with a preferred embodiment
A 1 1 1 1 1 Public Type tMeetingRecord sUserlD As String (user id given by Munin) sTitleOπg As Stπng (oπginal non stop listed title we need to keep around to send back to Munin) sTitleKW As Stπng (stoplisted title with only keywords) sBodyKW As Stπng (stop sted body with only keywords) sCompanyO As String (companys identified in title or body through pattern matching) sTopιc() As Stπng (topics identified in title or body through pattern matching) sPeople() As Stnng (people identified in title or body through pattern matching) sWhen() As Stπng (time identified in title or body through pattern matching) sWhere() As Stπng (location identified in title or body through pattern matching) sLocabon As Stπng (location as passed in by Munin) sTime As Stπng (time as passed in by Munin) sParbcipantsO As String (all participants engaged as passed in by Munin) sMeehngText As Stπng (the original meeting text w/o useπd) End Type
There are two other structures which are created to hold each individual pattern utilized in pattern matching The record tAPatternRecord is an array containing all the components / elements of a pattern The type tAPatternElement is an array of strings which represent an element in a pattern Because there may be many "substitutes" for each element, we need an array of strings to keep track of what all the substitutes are The structures of tAPatternElement and tAPatternRecord are presented below in accordance with a preferred embodiment
Public Type tAPatternElement elementArrayO As Stπng End Type Public Type tAPatternRecord patternArrayO As tAPatternElement End Type
COMMON USER DEFINED CONSTANTS
Many constants are defined in each declaration section of the program which may need to be updated periodically as part of the process of maintaining the system in accordance with a preferred embodiment The constants are accessible to allow dynamic configuration of the system to occur as updates for maintaining the code
Included in the following tables are lists of constants from each module which I thought are most likely to be modified from time to time However, there are also other constants used in the code not included in the following list It does not mean that these non-included constants will never be changed It means that they will change much less frequently
For the Main Module (BF Main)
Figure imgf000012_0001
Figure imgf000013_0001
the Search Module (BF Search)
Figure imgf000013_0002
the Parse Module (BF Parse)
Figure imgf000014_0001
For Pattern Matching Module (BFPatternMatch) There are no constants in this module which require frequent updates
General Process Flow The best way to depict the process flow and the coordination of functions between each other is with the five flowcharts illustrated in Figures 2 to 6 Figure 2 depicts the overall process flow in accordance with a preferred embodiment Processing commences at the top of the chart at function block 200 which launches when the program starts Once the application is started, the command line is parsed to remove the appropπate meeting text to initiate the target of the background find operation in accordance with a preferred embodiment as shown in function block 210 A global stop list is generated after the target is determined as shown in function block 220 Then, all the patterns that are utilized for matching operations are generated as illustrated in function block 230 Then, by tracing through the chart, function block 200 invokes GoBF 240 which is responsible for logical processing associated with wrapping the correct search query information for the particular target search engine For example, function block 240 flows to function block 250 and it then calls GoPatternMatch as shown in function block 260 To see the process flow of GoPatternMatch, we swap to the diagram titled "Process Flow for BF s Pattern Matching Unit "
One key thing to notice is that functions depicted at the same level of the chart are called by in sequential order from left to πght (or top to bottom) by their common parent function For example, Mam 200 calls ProcessCommandϋne 210, then CreateStopListist 220, then CreatePatterns 230, then GoBackgroundF der 240 Figures 3 to 6 detail the logic for the entire program, the parsing unit, the pattern matching unit and the search unit respectively Figure 6 details the logic determinative of data flow of key information through BackgroundFinder, and shows the functions that are responsible for creating or processing such information
DETAILED SEARCH ARCHITECTURE UNDER THE SIMPLE QUERY MODE
SEARCH ALTA VISTA
(Function block 270 of Figure 2) The Alta Vista search engine utilizes the identifies and returns general information about topics related to the current meeting as shown in function block 270 of Figure 2 The system in accordance with a preferred embodiment takes all the keywords from the title portion of the original meeting text and constructs an advanced query to send to Alta Vista The keywords are logically combined together in the query The results are also ranked based on the same set of keywords One of ordinary skill in the art will readily comprehend that a date restnction or publisher cπteπa could be facilitated on the articles we want to retrieve A set of top ranking stones are returned to the calendaπng system in accordance with a preferred embodiment
NEWS PAGE
(Function block 275 of Figure 2) The NewsPage search system is responsible for giving us the latest news topics related to a target meeting The system takes all of the keywords from the title portion of the oπgmal meeting text and constructs a query to send to the NewsPage search engine The keywords are logically combined together in the query Only articles published recently are retπeved The Newspage search system provides a date restnction cπteπa that is settable by a user according to the user's preference The top ranking stories are returned to the calendaring system
Figure 3 is a user profile data model in accordance with a preferred embodiment Processing commences at function block 300 which is responsible for invoking the program from the mam module Then, at function block 310, a wrapper function is invoked to prepare for the keyword extraction processing in function block 320 After the keywords are extracted, then processing flows to function block 330 to determine if the delimiters are properly positioned Then, at function block 340, the number of words in a particular stnng is calculated and the delimiters for the particular field are and a particular field from the meeting text is retπeved at function block 350 Then, at function block 380, the delimiters of the stπng are again checked to assure they are placed appropπately Finally, at function block 360, the extraction of each word from the title and body of the message is performed a word at a time utilizing the logic in function block 362 which finds the next closest word delimiter in the input phrase, function block 364 which stnps unnecessary mateπals from a word and function block 366 which determines if a word is on the stop list and returns an error if the word is on the stop list
PATTERN MATCHING IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The limitations associated with a simple searching method include the following 1 Because it relies on a stoplist of unwanted words in order to extract from the meeting text a set of keywords, it is limited by how comprehensive the stoplist is Instead of trying to figure out what parts of the meeting text we should throw away, we should focus on what parts of the meeting text we want 2 A simple search method in accordance with a preferred embodiment only uses the keywords from a meeting title to form queries to send to Alta Vista and NewsPage This ignores an alternative source of information for the query, the body of the meeting notice We cannot include the keywords from the meeting body to form our queries because this often results in queries which are too long and so complex that we often obtain no meaningful results 3 There is no way for us to tell what each keyword represents For example, we may extract "Andy" and "Grove" as two keywords However, a simplistic search has no way knowing that "Andy Grove" is in fact a person's name Imagine the possibilities if we could somehow intelligently guess that "Andy Grove" is a person's name We can find out if he is an Andersen person and if so what kind of projects he's been on before etc etc 4 In summary, by relying solely on a stoplist to parse out unnecessary words, we suffer from "information overload"
PATTERN MATCHING OVERCOMES THESE LIMITATIONS IN ACCORDANCE WITH A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Here's how the pattern matching system can address each of the corresponding issues above in accordance with a preferred embodiment
1 By doing pattern matching, we match up only parts of the meeting text that we want and extract those parts
2 By performing pattern matching on the meeting body and extracting only the parts from the meeting body that we want Our meeting body will not go to complete waste then
3 Pattern matching is based on a set of templates that we specify, allowing us to identify people names, company names etc from a meeting text
4 In summary, with pattern matching, we no longer suffer from information overload Of course, the big problem is how well our pattern matching works If we rely exclusively on artificial intelligence processing, we do not have a 100% hit rate We are able to identify about 20% of all company names presented to us
PATTERNS
A pattern in the context of a preferred embodiment is a template specifying the structure of a phrase we are looking for in a meeting text The patterns supported by a preferred embodiment are selected because they are templates of phrases which have a high probability of appeaπng in someone's meeting text For example, when entering a meeting in a calendar, many would write something such as "Meet with Bob Dutton from Stanford University next Tuesday ' A common pattern would then be something like the word "with" followed by a person's name (in this example it is Bob Dutton) followed by the word "from" and ending with an organization's name (in this case, it is Stanford University)
PATTERN MATCHING TERMINOLOGY
The common terminology associated with pattern matching is provided below
♦ Pattern a pattern is a template specifying the structure of a phrase we want to bind the meeting text to It contains sub units ♦ Element a pattern can contain many sub-units These subunits are called elements For example, in the pattern "with
$PEOPLE$ from $COMPANY$", "with" "$PEOPLE$" "from" "$COMPANY$" are all elements ♦ Placeholder a placeholder is a special kind of element in which we want to bind a value to Using the above example, "$PEOPLE$" is a placeholder
♦ Indicator an indicator is another kind of element which we want to find in a meeting text but no value needs to bind to it There may be often more than one indicator we are looking for in a certain pattern That is why an indicator is not an "atomic" type
♦ Substitute substitutes are a set of indicators which are all synonyms of each other Finding any one of them in the input is good
There are five fields which are identified for each meeting
♦ Company ($COMPANY$)
♦ People ($PEOPLE$)
♦ Location ($LOCATION$)
Figure imgf000017_0001
♦ Topic ($TOPIC_UPPER$) or ($TOPIC_ALL$) In parentheses are the placeholders I used in my code as representation of the corresponding meeting fields
Each placeholder has the following meaning
♦ $COMPANY$ binds a string of capitalized words (e g Meet with Joe Carter of <Andersen Consulting >)
♦ $PEOPLE$ binds series of string of two capitalized words potentially connected by "," "and" or "&" (e g Meet with <Joe Carter> of Andersen Consulting, Meet with <Joe Carter and Luke Hughes> of Andersen Consulting)
♦ $LOCATION$ binds a stπng of capitalized words (e g Meet Susan at <Palo Alto Square>)
♦ $TIME$ binds a string containing the format # ## (e g Dinner at <6 30 pm>)
♦ $TOPIC_UPPER$ binds a stπng of capitalized words for our topic (e g <Stanford Engineering Recruιtιng> Meeting to talk about new hires) ♦ $TOPIC_ALL$ binds a string of words without really caπng if it's capitalized or not (e g Meet to talk about
<ubιquιtous
Figure imgf000017_0002
Here is a table representing all the patterns supported by BF Each pattern belongs to a pattern group All patterns within a pattern group share a similar format and they only differ from each other in terms of what indicators are used as substitutes Note that the patterns which are grayed out are also commented in the code BF has the capability to support these patterns but we decided that matching these pattems is not essential at this point
PATGRP PAT# PATTERN EXAMPLE
Figure imgf000017_0003
Figure imgf000018_0001
Figure imgf000019_0001
Figure 4 is a detailed flowchart of pattern matching in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at function block 400 where the main program invokes the pattern matching application and passes control to function block 410 to commence the pattern match processing. Then, at function block 420, the wrapper function loops through to process each pattern which includes determining if a part of the text string can be bound to a pattern as shown in function block 430. Then, at function block 440, various placeholders are bound to values if they exist, and in function block 441 , a list of names separated by punctuation are bound, and at function block 442 a full name is processed by finding two capitalized words as a full name and grabbing the next letter after a space after a word to determine if it is capitalized. Then, at function block 443, time is parsed out of the string in an appropriate manner and the next word after a blank space in function block 444. Then, at function block 445, the continuous phrases of capitalized words such as company, topic or location are bound and in function block 446, the next word after the blank is obtained for further processing in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Following the match meeting field processing, function block 450 is utilized to loacte an indicator which is the head of a pattern, the next word after the blank is obtained as shown in function block 452 and the word is checked to determine if the word is an indicator as shown in function block 454. Then, at function block 460, the string is parsed to locate an indicator which is not at the end of the pattern and the next word after unnecessary white space such as that following a line feed or a carriage return is processed as shown in function block 462 and the word is analyzed to determine if it is an indicator as shown in function block 464. Then, in function block 470, the temporary record is reset to the null set to prepare it for processing the next string and at function block 480, the meeting record is updated and at function block 482 a check is performed to determine if an entry is already made to the meeting record before parsing the meeting record again.
USING THE IDENTIFIED MEETING FIELDS
Now that we have identified fields within the meeting text which we consider important, there are quite a few things we can do with it. One of the most important applications of pattern matching is of course to improve the query we construct which eventually gets submitted to Alta Vista and News Page. There are also a lot of other options and enhancements which exploit the results of pattern matching that we can add to BF. These other options will be described in the next section. The goal of this section is to give the reader a good sense of how the results obtained from pattern matching can be used to help us obtain better search results. Figure 5 is a flowchart of the detailed processing for prepaπng a query and obtaining information from the Internet in accordance with a preferred embodiment Processing commences at function block 500 and immediately flows to function block 510 to process the wrapper functionality to prepare for an Internet search utilizing a web search engine If the search is to utilize the Alta Vista search engine, then at function block 530, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 540 to 560 for submittal to the search engine If the search is to utilize the NewsPage search engine, then at function block 520, the system takes information from the meeting record and forms a query in function blocks 521 to 528
Alta Vista Search Engine
The strength of the Alta Vista search engine is that it provides enhanced flexibility Using its advance query method, one can construct all sorts of Boolean quenes and rank the search however you want However, one of the biggest drawbacks with Alta
Vista is that it is not very good at handling a large query and is likely to give back irrelevant results If we can identify the topic and the company within a meeting text, we can form a pretty short but comprehensive query which will hopefully yield better results We also want to focus on the topics found It may not be of much meπt to the user to find out info about a company especially if the user already knows the company well and has had numerous meetings with them It's the topics they want to research on
News Page Search Engine
The strength of the News Page search engine is that it does a great job searching for the most recent news if you are able to give it a valid company name Therefore when we submit a query to the news page web site, we send whatever company name we can identify and only if we cannot find one do we use the topics found to form a query If neither one is found, then no search is performed The algoπthmn utilized to form the query to submit to Alta Vista is illustrated in Figure 7 The algoπthmn that we will use to form the query to submit to News Page is illustrated in Figure 8
The following table describes in detail each function in accordance with a preferred embodiment The order in which functions appear mimics the process flow as closely as possible When there are situations in which a function is called several times, this function will be listed after the first function which calls it and its description is not duplicated after every subsequent function which calls it
Figure imgf000020_0001
Procedure Name Type Called By Description
CMD SEPARATOR
CreateStopϋst Pπvate Main This function sets up a stop list for (BF Mam) Function future use to parse out unwanted words from the meeting text There are commas on each side of each word to enable straight checking
CreatePatterns Public Sub Main This procedure is called once when BF (BF PattemMatch is first initialized to create all the potential patterns that portions of the meeting text can bind to A pattern can contain however many elements as needed There are two types of elements The first type of elements are indicators These are real words which delimit the potential of a meeting field (eg company) to follow Most of these indicators are stop words as expected because stop words are words usually common to all meeting text so it makes sense they form patterns The second type of elements are special stπngs which represent placeholders A placeholder is always in the form of $*$ where * can be either PEOPLE, COMPANY, TOPIC JPPER, TIME,LOCATION or TOPIC_ALL A pattern can begin with either one of the two types of elements and can be however long, involving however any number/type of elements This procedure dynamically creates a new pattern record for each pattern in the table and it also dynamically creates new tAPatternElements for each element within a pattern In addition, there is
Figure imgf000022_0001
Figure imgf000023_0001
Procedure Name Type Called By Description the word, so we will need a method of looping through the body and rejecting words without killing the whole function i guess keep CleanWord and check a return value ok, now I have a word so I need to send it down the parse chain This chain goes
ParseCleanPhrase -> CleanWord ->
EvaluateWord. If the word gets through the entire chain without being killed, it will be added at the end to our keyword stπng first would be the function that checks for 7" as a delimiter and extracts the parts of that. This I will call
"StitchFace" (Denise is more normal and calls it GetAWordFromStπng) if this finds words, then each of these will be sent, in turn, down the chain. If these get through the entire chain without being added or killed then they
Figure imgf000024_0001
added rather than tossed
FindMm Private ParseAndCleanPhrase This function takes in 6 input values (BF Parse) Function and evaluates to see what the minimum non zero value is. It first creates an array as a holder so that we can sort the five input values in ascending order. Thus the minimum value will be the first non zero value element of the array. If we go through entire array without finding a non zero value, we know that there is an error and we exit the function
Figure imgf000025_0001
Figure imgf000026_0001
Figure imgf000027_0001
Figure imgf000028_0001
Figure imgf000029_0001
Figure imgf000030_0001
Figure imgf000031_0001
Figure imgf000032_0001
Figure imgf000033_0001
Figure 6 is a flowchart of the actual code utilized to prepare and submit searches to the Alta Vista and Newspage search engines in accordance with a preferred embodiment Processing commences at function block 610 where a command line is utilized to update a calendar entry with specific calendar information The message is next posted in accordance with function block 620 and a meeting record is created to store the current meeting information in accordance with function block 630 Then, in funcbon block 640 the query is submitted to the Alta Vista search engine and in function block 650, the query is submitted to the Newspage search engine When a message is returned from the search engine, it is stored in a results data structure as shown in function block 660 and the information is processed and stored in summary form in a file for use in preparation for the meeting as detailed in function block 670 Figure 7 provides more detail on creating the query in accordance with a preferred embodiment. Processing commences at function block 710 where the meeting record is parsed to obtain potential companies, people, topics, location and a bme. Then, in function block 720, at least one topic is identified and in function block 720, at least one company name is identified and finally in function block 740, a decision is made on what material to transmit to the file for ultimate consumption by the user
Figure 8 is a vanation on the query theme presented in Figure 7. A meebng record is parsed in funcbon block 800, a company is idenbfied in function block 820, a topic is identified in function block 830 and finally in funcbon block 840 the topic and or the company is utilized in formulating the query.
Alternative embodiments for adding various specific features for specific user requirements are discussed below
Enhance Target Rate for Pattern Matching
To increase BF's performance, more patterns/pattern groups are added to the procedure "CreatePatterns." The existing code for declaπng patterns can be used as a template for future patterns. Because everything is stored as dynamic arrays, it is convenient to reuse code by cutting and pasting. The functions BindName, BindTime, BindCompanyLocTopic which are responsible for associating a value with a placeholder can be enhanced. The enhancement is realized by increasing the set of criteria for binding a certain meeting field in order to increase the number of binding values. For example, BindTime currently accepts and binds all values in the form of ##:## or #:##. To increase the times we can bind, we may want BindTime to also accept the numbers 1 to 12 followed by the more aesthetic time terminology "o'clock " Vocabulary based recognition algorithms and assigning an accuracy rate to each guess BF makes allowing only guesses which meet a certain threshold to be valid
Depending on what location the system identifies through pattern matching or alternatively depending on what location the user indicates as the meeting place, a system in accordance with a preferred embodiment suggests a plurality of fine restaurants whenever it detects the words lunch/dinner/breakfast. We can also use a site like company finder to confirm what we got is indeed a company name or if there is no company name that pattern matching can identify, we can use a company finder web site as a "dictionary" for us to determine whether certain capitalized words represent a company name. We can even display stock pπces and breaking news for a company that we have identified. Wireless Bargain Identification in Accordance With A Preferred Embodiment
Figure 9 is a flow diagram that depicts the hardware and logical flow of control for a device and a software system designed to allow Web-based compaπson shopping in conventional, physical, non-Web retail environments. A wireless phone or similar hand-held wireless device 920 with Internet Protocol capability is combined with a miniature barcode reader 910 (installed either inside the phone or on a short cable) and used to scan the Universal Product Code (UPC) bar code on a book or other product 900. The wireless device 920 transmits the bar code via an antennae 930 to the Pocket BargainFinder Service Module (running on a Web server) 940, which converts it to (in the case of books) its International Standard Book Number or (in the case of other products) whatever identifier is appropπate. The Service Module then contacts the appropriate third-party Web sιte(s) to find price, shipping and availability information on the product from various Web suppliers 950. This information is formatted and displayed on the hand-held device's screen. The IP wireless phone or other hand held device 920 utilizes a wireless modem such as a Ricochet SE Wireless Modem from Metricom. Utilizing this device, a user can hang out in a coffee shop with a portable computer perched on a rickety little table, with a latte sloshing dangerously close to the keyboard, and access the Internet at speeds rivaling direct connect via a telephone line
The 8-ounce Ricochet SE Wireless Modem is about as large as a pack of cigarettes and setup is extremely simple, simply attach the modem to the back of your portable's screen with the included piece of Velcro, plug the cable into the seπal port, flip up the stubby antenna, and transmit. Software setup is equally easy: a straightforward installer adds the Ricochet modem drivers and places the connection icon on your desktop. The functional aspects of the modem are identical to that of a traditional telephone modem.
Of course, wireless performance isn't nearly as reliable as a traditional dial-up phone connection We were able to get strong connections in several San Francisco locations as long as we stayed near the windows But inside CNET's all-brick headquarters, the Ricochet couldn't connect at all. When you do get online, performance of up to 288 kbps is available with graceful degradation to slower speeds. But even the slower speeds didn't disappoint Compared to the alternabve-connecbng via a cellular modem-the Ricochet is much faster, more reliable, and less expensive to use. Naturally, the SE Wireless is battery powered. The modem has conbnuous battery life of up to 12 hours. And in accordance with a preferred embodiment, we ran down our portable computer's dual cells before the Ricochet started to fade.
Thus, utilizing the wireless modem, a user may utilize the web server software 940 to identify the πght product 950 and then use an appropriate device's key(s) to select a supplier and place an order in accordance with a preferred embodiment. The BargainFinder Service Module then consummates the order with the appropriate third-party Web supplier 960.
mySite! Personal Web Site & Intentions Value Network Prototype
mySite! is a high-impact, Internet-based application in accordance with a preferred embodiment that is focused on the theme of deliveπng services and providing a personalized experience for each customer via a personal web site in a buyer-centπc world
The services are intuitively organized around satisfying customer intentions - fundamental life needs or objectives that require extensive planning decisions, and coordination across several dimensions, such as financial planning, healthcare, personal and professional development, family life, and other concerns Each member owns and maintains his own profile, enabling him to create and browse content in the system targeted specifically at him From the time a demand for products or services is entered, to the completion of payment, intelligent agents are utilized to conduct research, execute transactions and provide advice By using advanced profiling and filteπng, the intelligent agents learn about the user, improving the services they deliver
Customer intentions include Managing Daily Logistics (e g , email, calendar, contacts, to-do list, bill payment, shopping, and travel planning), and Moving to a New Community (e g , finding a place to live, moving household possessions, getting travel and shipping insurance coverage, notifying business and personal contacts, learning about the new community) From a consumer standpoint, mySite1 provides a central location where a user can access relevant products and services and accomplish daily tasks with ultimate ease and convenience
From a business standpoint, mySite1 represents a value-added and mnovabve way to effectively attract, service, and retain customers Intention value networks allow a user to enter through a personalized site and, and with the assistance of a leaming, intelligent agent, seamlessly interact with network participants An intention value network in accordance with a preferred embodiment provides superior value It provides twenty four hour a day, seven days a week access to customized information, advice and products The information is personalized so that each member views content that is highly customized to assure relevance to the required target user
Egocentric Interface
An Egocentnc Interface is a user interface crafted to satisfy a particular user's needs, preferences and current context It utilizes the user's personal information that is stored in a central profile database to customize the interface The user can set secuπty permissions on and preferences for interface elements and content The content integrated into the Egocentric Interface is customized with related information about the user When displaying content, the Egocentnc Interface will include the relationship between that content and the user in a way that demonstrates how the content relates to the user For instance, when displaying information about an upcoming ski tπp the user has signed up for, the interface will include information about events from the user's personal calendar and contact list, such as other people who will be in the area during the ski trip This serves to put the new piece of information into a context familiar to the individual user
Figure 10A descnbes the Intention Value Network Architecture implementation for the World Wide Web For simplification purposes, this diagram ignores the complexity pertaining to secuπty, scalability and pπvacy The customer can access the Intention Value Network with any Internet web browser 1010, such as Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer, running on a personal computer connected to the Internet or a Personal Digital Assistant with wireless capability See Figure 17 for a more detailed descnption of the multiple methods for accessing an Intention Value Network The customer accesses the Intention Value Network through the unique name or IP address associated with the Integrators Web Server 1020 The Integrator creates the Intention Value Network using a combinabon of resources, such as the Intention Database 1030, the Content Database 1040, the Supplier Profile Database 1050, and the Customer Profile Database 1060
The Intention Database 1030 stores all of the information about the structure of the intention and the types of products and services needed to fulfill the intention Information in this database includes intention steps, areas of interest, layout templates and personalization templates. The Content Database 1040 stores all of the information related to the intention, such as advice, referral information, personalized content, satisfaction ratings, product ratings and progress reports.
The Supplier Profile Database 1050 contains information about the product and service providers integrated into the intention The information contained in this database provides a link between the intention framework and the suppliers. It includes product lists, features and descπptions, and addresses of the suppliers' product web sites. The Customer Profile Database 1060 contains personal information about the customers, such as name, address, social secuπty number and credit card information, personal preferences, behavioral information, history, and web site layout preferences. The Supplier's Web Server 1070 provides access to all of the supplier's databases necessary to provide information and transacbonal support to the customer.
The Product Information Database 1080 stores all product-related information, such as features, availability and pπcing. The Product Order Database 1090 stores all customer orders. The interface to this database may be through an Enterpπse Resource Planning application offered by SAP, Baan, Oracle or others, or it may be accessible directly through the Supplier's Web Server or application server The Customer Informabon Database 1091 stores all of the customer informabon that the supplier needs to complete a transaction or maintain customer records
Figure 10B is a flowchart providing the logic utilized to create a web page within the Egocentnc Interface. The environment assumes a web server and a web browser connected through a TCP/IP network, such as over the public Internet or a pπvate Intranet. Possible web servers could include Microsoft Internet Information Server, Netscape Enterprise Server or Apache. Possible web browsers include Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. The client (i e. web browser) makes a request 1001 to the server (i.e web server) for a particular web page. This is usually accomplished by a user clicking on a button or a link within a web page. The web server gets the layout and content preferences 1002 for that particular user, with the request to the database keyed off of a unique user id stored in the client (i.e. web browser) and the User profile database 1003. The web server then retrieves the content 1004 for the page that has been requested from the content database 1005. The relevant user-centric content, such as calendar, email, contact list, and task list items are then retrieved 1006 (See Figure 11 for a more detailed description of this process ) The query to the database utilizes the user content preferences stored as part of the user profile in the User profile database 1003 to filter the content that is returned The content that is returned is then formatted into a web page 1007 according to the layout preferences defined in the user profile The web page is then returned to the client and displayed to the user 1008.
Figure 11 descnbes the process of retrieving user-centnc content to add to a web page. This process describes 1006 in Figure 10B in a more detailed fashion. It assumes that the server already has obtained the user profile and the exishng content that is going to be integrated into this page. The server parses 1110 the filtered content, looking for instances of events, contact names and email addresses. If any of these are found, they are tagged and stored in a temporary holding space Then, the server tries to find any user-centnc content 1120 stored in vaπous databases. This involves matching the tagged items in the temporary storage space with calendar items 1130 in the Calendar Database 1140; email items 1115 in the Email Database 1114, contact items 1117 in the Contact Database 1168; task list items 1119 in the Task List Database 1118; and news items 1121 in the News Database 1120. After retπevmg any relevant user-centric content, it is compiled together and returned 1122. User Persona
The system allows the user to create a number of different personas that aggregate profile information into sets that are useful in different contexts A user may create one persona when making purchases for his home This persona may contain his home address and may indicate that this user is looking to find a good bargain when shopping The same user may create a second persona that can be used when he is in a work context This persona may store the user s work address and may indicate that the user prefers certain vendors or works for a certain company that has a discount program in place When shopping for work- related items, the user may use this persona A persona may also contain rules and restrictions For instance, the work persona may restπct the user to making airline reservations with only one travel agent and utilizing booking rules set up by his employer
Figure 12 describes the relationship between a user, his multiple personas and his multiple profiles At the User Level is the
User Profile 1200 This profile descnbes the user and his account information There is one unique record in the database for each user who has an account Attached to each user are multiple Personas 1220, 1230 & 1240 These Personas are used to group multiple Profiles into useful contexts For instance, consider a user who lives in San Francisco and works in Palo Alto, but has a mountain cabin in Lake Tahoe He has three different contexts in which he might be accessing his site One context is work-related The other two are home-life related, but in different locations The user can create a Persona for Work 1220, a
Persona for Home 1230, and a Persona for his cabin home 1240 Each Persona references a different General Profile 1250, 1260 and 1270 which contains the address for that location Hence, there are three General Profiles Each Persona also references one of two Travel Profiles The user maintains a Work Travel Profile 1280 that contains all of the business rules related to booking tickets and making reservations This Profile may specify, for instance, that this person only travels in Business or First Class and his preferred airline is United Airlines The Work Persona references this Work Travel Profile The user may also maintain a Home Travel Profile 1290 that specifies that he prefers to travel in coach and wants to find non- refundable fairs, since they are generally cheaper Both the Persona for Home and the Persona for the cabin home point to the Home Travel Profile
Figure 13 describes the data model that supports the Persona concept The user table 1310 contains a record for each user who has an account in the system This table contains a username and a password 1320 as well as a unique identifier Each user can have multiple Personas 1330, which act as containers for more specialized structures called Profiles 1340. Profiles contain the detailed personal information in Profile Field 1350 records Attached to each Profile are sets of Profile Restπcbon 1360 records These each contain a Name 1370 and a Rule 1380, which define the restnction The Rule is in the form of a pattern like (if x then y), which allows the Rule to be restπcted to certain uses An example Profile Restriction would be the rule that dictates that the user cannot book a flight on a certain airline contained in the list This Profile Restnction could be contained in the "Travel" Profile of the "Work" Persona set up by the user's employer, for instance Each Profile Field also contains a set of Permissions 1390 that are contained in that record These permissions dictate who has what access πghts to that particular Profile Field's information
Intention-Centric Interface
Satisfying Customer Intentions, such as Planning for Retirement or Relocating requires a specialized interface Customer Intentions require extensive planning and coordination across many areas, ranging from financial security, housing and transportation to healthcare, personal and professional development, and entertainment, among others Satisfying intentions requires a network of complementary businesses, working across industries, to help meet consumers' needs
An Intention-Centric Interface is a user interface designed to help the user manage personal Intentions At any given point, the interface content is customized to show only content that relates to that particular Intention The Intenbon-Centπc Interface allows the user to manage the process of satisfying that particular Intention This involves a seπes of discrete steps and a set of content areas the user can access At any point, the user can also switch the interface to manage a different Intention, and this act will change the content of the interface to include only that content which is relevant to the satisfaction of the newly selected Intention
Figure 14 provides a detailed description of the data model needed to support an Intention-Centπc Interface Each User Persona 1410 (see Figure 13 for a more detailed descnption of the Persona data model ) has any number of active User Intentions 1420 Each active User Intention is given a Nickname 1430, which is the display name the user sees on the screen Each active User Intention also contains a number of Data Fields 1440, which contain any user data collected throughout the interaction with the user For instance, if the user had filled out a form on the screen and one of the fields was Social Secuπty
Number, the corresponding Data Field would contain Name = "SSN" 1450, Value = "999-99-9999" 1460 Each User Intention also keeps track of Intention Step 1470 completion status The Completion 1480 field indicates whether the user has completed the step Every User Intention is a user-specific version of a Genenc Intention 1490, which is the default model for that Intention for all users The Generic Intention is customized through Custom Rules 1411 and 1412 that are attached to the sub-steps in the Intention These Custom Rules are patterns describing how the system will customize the Intention for each individual user using the individual user's profile information
Statistical Agent
An agent keeps track of key statistics for each user These statistics are used in a manner similar to the Tamagochi virtual reality pet toy to encourage certain behaviors from the user The statistics that are recorded are frequency of login, frequency of rating of content such as news articles, and activity of agents, measured by the number of tasks which it performs in a certain peπod This information is used by the system to emotionally appeal to the user to encourage certain behaviors
Figure 15 describes the process for generating the page that displays the agent's current statistics When the user requests the agent stabsbcs page 1510 with the client browser, the server retπeves the users' statistics 1520 from the users' profile database
1530 The server then performs the mathematical calculations necessary to create a normalized set of statistics 1540 The server then retrieves the formulas 1550 from the content database 1560 that will be used to calculate the user-centnc statistics Graphs are then generated 1570 using the generic formulas and that user's statistics These graphs are inserted into a template to create the statistics page 1580 This page is then returned to the user 1590 Personalized Product Report Service
The system provide Consumer Report-like service that is customized for each user based on a user profile The system records and provides ratings from users about product quality and desirability on a number of dimensions The difference between this system and traditional product quality measurement services is that the ratings that come back to the users are personalized This service works by finding the people who have the closest match to the user s profile and have previously rated the product being asked for Using this algoπthm will help to ensure that the product reports sent back to the user only contain statistics from people who are similar to that user
Figure 16 describes the algorithm for determining the personalized product ratings for a user When the user requests a product report 1610 for product X, the algoπthm retrieves the profiles 1620 from the profile database 1630 (which includes product ratings) of those users who have previously rated that product Then the system retπeves the default thresholds 1640 for the profile matching algoπthm from the content database 1650 It then maps all of the short list of users along several dimensions specified in the profile matching algoπthm 1660 The top n (specified previously as a threshold variable) nearest neighbors are then determined and a test is performed to decide if they are within distance y (also specified previously as a threshold variable) of the user s profile in the set 1670 using the results from the profile matching algoπthm If they are not within the threshold, then the threshold variables are relaxed 1680, and the test is run again This processing is repeated until the test returns true The product rabngs from the smaller set of n nearest neighbors are then used to determine a number of product statistics 1690 along several dimensions Those statistics are inserted into a product report template 1695 and returned to the user 1697 as a product report
Personal Profile and Services Ubiquity
This system provides one central storage place for a person's profile This storage place is a server available through the public Internet, accessible by any device that is connected to the Internet and has appropπate access Because of the ubiquitous accessibility of the profile, numerous access devices can be used to customize services for the user based on his profile For example, a merchant's web site can use this profile to provide personalized content to the user A Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) with Internet access can synchronize the person's calendar, email, contact list, task list and notes on the PDA with the version stored in the Internet site This enables the person to only have to maintain one version of this data in order to have it available whenever it is needed and in whatever formats it is needed
Figure 17 presents the detailed logic associated with the many different methods for accessing this centrally stored profile The profile database 1710 is the central storage place for the users' profile information The profile gateway server 1720 receives all requests for profile informabon, whether from the user himself or merchants trying to provide a service to the user The profile gateway server is responsible for ensuring that information is only given out when the profile owner specifically grants permission Any device that can access the public Internet 1730 over TCP/IP (a standard network communications protocol) is able to request information from the profile database via intelligent HTTP requests Consumers will be able to gain access to services from devices such as their televisions 1740, mobile phones, Smart Cards, gas meters, water meters, kitchen appliances, security systems, desktop computers, laptops, pocket organizers, PDAs, and their vehicles, among others Likewise, merchants 1750 will be able to access those profiles (given permission from the consumer who owns each profile), and will be able to offer customized, personalized services to consumers because of this
One possible use of the ubiquitous profile is for a hotel chain A consumer can carry a Smart Card that holds a digital certificate uniquely identifying him This Smart Card's digital certificate has been issued by the system and it recorded his profile information into the profile database The consumer bπngs this card into a hotel chain and checks in The hotel employee swipes the Smart Card and the consumer enters his Pin number, unlocking the digital certificate The certificate is sent to the profile gateway server (using a secure transmission protocol) and is authenticated The hotel is then given access to a certain part of the consumer's profile that he has previously specified The hotel can then retπeve all of the consumer's billing information as well as preferences for hotel room, etc The hotel can also access the consumer's movie and dining preferences and offer customized menus for both of them The hotel can offer to send an email to the consumer's spouse letting him/her know the person checked into the hotel and is safe All transaction information can be uploaded to the consumer's profile after the hotel checks him in This will allow partners of the hotel to utilize the information about the consumer that the hotel has gathered (again, given the consumers permission)
Intention Value Network
In an Intention Value Network, the overall integrator system coordinates the delivery of products and services for a user The integrator manages a network of approved suppliers providing products and services, both physical and virtual, to a user based on the user's preferences as reflected in the user's profile The integrator manages the relationship between suppliers and consumers and coordinates the suppliers' fulfillment of consumers' intentions It does this by providing the consumer with information about products and suppliers and offering objective advice, among other things
Figure 18 discloses the detailed interaction between a consumer and the integrator involving one supplier The user accesses a Web Browser 1810 and requests product and pricing information from the integrator The request is sent from the user's browser to the integrator's Web/Application Server 1820 The user s preferences and personal information is obtained from an integrators customer profile database 1830 and returned to the Web/Application server The requested product information is extracted from the supplier's product database 1840 and customized for the particular customer The Web/Applicabon server updates the supplier's customer information database 1850 with the inquiry information about the customer The product and pricing information is then formatted into a Web Page 1860 and returned to the customer's Web Browser
Summary Agent
A suite of software agents running on the application and web servers are programmed to take care of repetitive or mundane tasks for the user The agents work according to rules set up by the user and are only allowed to perform tasks explicitly defined by the user The agents can take care of paying bills for the user, fϋteπng content and emails, and providing a summary view of tasks and agent activity The user interface for the agent can be modified to suit the particular user
Figure 19 discloses the logic in accordance with a preferred embodiment processing by an agent to generate a verbal summary for the user When the user requests the summary page 1900, the server gets the user's agent preferences 1920, such as agent type, rules and summary level from the user profile database 1930 The server gets the content 1940, such as emails, to do list items, news, and bills, from the content database 1950 The agent parses all of this content, using the rules stored in the profile database, and summanzes the content 1960 The content is formatted into a web page 1970 according to a template The text for the agent's speech is generated 1980, using the content from the content database 1990 and speech templates stored in the database This speech text is inserted into the web page 1995 and the page is returned to the user 1997
Trusted Third Party
The above scenario requires the web site to maintain a guarantee of pnvacy of information according to a published policy This system is the consumer's Trusted Third Party, acting on his behalf in every case, erπng on the side of privacy of information, rather than on the side of stimulation of commerce opportunities The Trusted Third Party has a set of processes in place that guarantee certain complicity with the stated policy "meCommerce"
This word extends the word "eCommerce" to mean "personalized electronic commerce "
Figure 20 illustrates a display login in accordance with a preferred embodiment The display is implemented as a Microsoft Internet Explorer application with an agent 2000 that guides a user through the process of interacting with the system to customize and personalize various system components to gather information and interact with the user s personal requirements A user enters a usemame at 2010 and a password at 2020 and selects a button 2040 to initiate the login procedure As the logo
2030 suggests, the system transforms electronic commerce into a personalized, so called "me" commerce
Figure 21 illustrates a managing daily logistics display in accordance with a preferred embodiment A user is greeted by an animated agent 2100 with a personalized message 2190 The user can select from various activities based on requirements, including travel 2110, household chores 2120, finances 2130 and marketplace activities 2140 Icons 2142 for roubne tasks such as e-mail, calendaπng and document preparation are also provided to facilitate rapid navigation from one activity to another Direct links 2146 are also provided to allow transfer of news and other items of interest Vaπous profiles can be selected based on where the user is located For example, work, home or vacation The profiles can be added 2170 as a user requires a new profile for another location Vaπous items 2180 of personal information are collected from the user to support various endeavors Moreover, permissions 2150 are set for items 2180 to assure information is timely and current
Figure 22 illustrates a user mam display in accordance with a preferred embodiment World 2200 and local news 2210 is provided based on a user's preference The user has also selected real estate 2230 as an item to provide direct informabon on the main display Also, a different agent 2220 is provided based on the user's preference
Figure 23 illustrates an agent interaction in accordance with a preferred embodiment The agent 2310 is communicating informabon 2300 to a user indicating that the user's life insurance needs have changed and pointing the user to the chart that best summanzes the information for the user Particular tips 2395 are provided to facilitate more detailed information based on current user stabsbcs A chart 2370 of the user's life insurance needs is also highlighted at the center of the display to assist the user in determining appropriate action A button 2380 is provided to facilitate changing the policy and a set of buttons 2390 are provided to assist a user in selecting vaπous views of the user's insurance requirements Event Backgrounder
An Event Backgrounder is a short description of an upcoming event that is sent to the user just before an event The Event Backgrounder is constantly updated with the latest information related to this event Pertinent information such as itinerary and logisbcs are included, and other useful information, such as people the user knows who might be in the same location, are also included The purpose of the Event Backgrounder is to provide the most up-to-date information about an event, drawing from a number of resources, such as public web sites and the user's calendar and contact lists, to allow the user to react optimally in a given situation
Vicinity Friend Finder
This software looks for opportunities to tell the user when a friend, family member or acquaintance is or is going to be in the same vicinity as the user This software scans the user's calendar for upcoming events It then uses a geographic map to compare those calendar events with the calendar events of people who are listed in his contact list It then informs the user of any matches, thus telling the user that someone is scheduled to be near him at a particular time
Information Overload The term information overload is now relatively understood in both its definition as well as its implications and consequences
People have a finite amount of attention that is available at any one time, but there is more and more vying for that attention every day In short, too much information and too little time are the primary factors complicating the lives of most knowledge workers today
The first attempts to dynamically deal with information overload were pπmaπly focused on the intelligent filteπng of informabon such that the quantity ot information would be lessened Rather than simply removing random bits of information, however, most of these approaches tried to be intelligent about what information was ultimately presented to the user This was accomplished by evaluating each document based on the user's interests and discarding the less relevant ones It follows, therefore, that the quality was also increased
Filteπng the information is only a first step in dealing with information is this new age Arguably, just as important as the quality of the document is having ready access to it Once you have entered a meeting, a document containing cπhcal information about the meeting subject delivered to your office is of little value As the speed of business continues to increase fueled by the technologies of interconnectedness, the ability to receive quality information wherever and whenever you are becomes cπhcal This new approach is called intelligent information delivery and is heralding in a new information age
A preferred embodiment demonstrates the intelligent information delivery theory described above in an attempt to not only reduce information overload, but to deliver high quality informabon where and when users' require it In other words, the system delivers right information to the right person at the right time and the πght place Active Knowledge Management System Description
Figure 24 is a block diagram of an active knowledge management system in accordance with a preferred embodiment The system consists of the following parts back-end 2400 connection to one or more servers, personal mobile wireless clients (Awareness Machιne)2430, 2436, public clients (Magic Wall) 2410, 2420, web clients 2446, 2448, e-mail clients 2450, 2460
Back-end Server (2400) Processes
Figure 25 is a block diagram of a back end server in accordance with a preferred embodiment The back-end (2400 of Figure 24) is a computer system that has the following software active Intelligent Agents Coordinator (Munin) 2580, Informabon Pπoπtization Subsystem 2530, a set of continuously and peπodically running infomiation gatheπng and processing Intelligent Agents 2500, 2502 and 2504, User Profiles Database 2542 and supporting software, Information Channels Database 2542 and supporting software, communications software 2550, information transformation software 2560, and auxiliary software
The Awareness Machine (2446 & 2448 of Figure 24)
The Awareness Machine is a combination of hardware device and software application The hardware consists of handheld personal computer and wireless communications device The Awareness Machine reflects a constantly updated state-of-the- owner's-world by continually receiving a wireless tπckle of informabon This informabon, mined and processed by a suite of intelligent agents, consists of mail messages, news that meets each user's preferences, schedule updates, background information on upcoming meetings and events, as well as weather and traffic The Awareness Machine is covered by another patent application
Figure 26 is a block diagram of a magic wall in accordance with a preferred embodiment
The Magic Wall
The Magic Wall hardware includes
• Computer system 2640 connected to the back-end server • Sensor array 2634, 2630 and 2632 detects presence, position, and identity of a person
• Large touch-sensitive display 2620
• Sound input 2610 /output 2614 hardware
The Magic Wall software supports
• Multimedia output compatible with current Web standards
• Speech recognition
• Tactile input
• Intelligent agents representations in the form of speech-enabled animated characters
The Magic Wall operates as follows 1 If a user appears in the vicinity of Magic Wall the sensor array triggers 'user here" event that sends an environmental cue containing the person's id and the location to the Intelligent Agent Coordinator
2 User is identified based on the information returned by the sensor array
3 The Magic Wall switches to "locked on the user" mode If another user approaches, the system will notify him or her that it cannot serve another user while the current user is being served
4 Intelligent Agent Coordinator is notified about the user presence
5 The Intelligent Agent Coordinator decides if there is pertinent to that user and Magic Wall location time-sensitive information to show (e g traffic report, meeting reminder) If such information exists, it is prepared for delivery If not, control is transferred to the Information Pπoπtizabon Subsystem 6 Informabon Pπoπbzabon Subsystem decides what informabon is most relevant to the user based on their personal profile, freshness of the information, and the Intelligent Agent Coordinator's prior suggestions
7 The page of informabon idenbfied as the most relevant to the user at this time and place is shown The act of the information delivery can also include animation and speech output of the intelligent agent representation
8 If user desires so, he or she can ask Magic Wall to show a particular page The Magic Wall recognizes the speech fragment and then identifies and shows the requested page
9 As the user departs from the Magic Wall area, the sensor array tπggers "user left" event
10 The Magic Wall switches back to the waiting state
Other Clients
The Web client is a standard browser navigating to a set of Web pages which allow user to see the same information that is available via the Magic Wall
The e-mail client is any standard e-mail program
Intelligent Agent Coordinator Description This piece of code is the coordinating agent (or meta-agent) for the Active Knowledge Management system This means that all communications between the system and each user, as well as communication between the different minion agents are handled (coordinated) by the Intelligent Agent Coordinator Examples of these minion agents are
• BackgroundFinder - an agent that parses meebng text determining important keywords and phrases and finds background informabon on the meebng for each user
• TrafficFinder - an agent that finds traffic information for each user based on where they live
• Several other agents that are responsible for doing statistical analysis of the data in each user's profile and updating fields pertinent to that data
The Intelligent Agent Coordinator 2580 of Figure 25 is also the user's "interface" to the system, in that whenever the user interacts with the system, regardless of the GUI or other end-user interface, they are ultimately dealing with (asking questions of or sending commands to) the Intelligent Agent Coordinator The Intelligent Agent Coordinator has four pnmary responsibilities 1) monitoπng user activities, 2) handling information requests, 3) maintaining each user's profile, and 4) routing information to and from users and to and from the other respective agents
Monitoring User Activities
Anytime a user tπggers a sensor the Intelligent Agent Coordinator receives an "environmental cue " These cues not only enable the Intelligent Agent Coordinator to gam an understanding where users' are for information delivery purposes, but also to learn the standard patterns (arπval time, departure time, etc ) of each persons' life These patterns are constantly being updated and refined in an attempt to increase the system's intelligence when delivering information For instance, today it is not uncommon for a person to have several email accounts (work-based, home-based, mobile-based, etc ) as well as several different computers involved in the retπeval process for all of these accounts Thus, for the Intelligent Agent Coordinator to be successful in deliveπng information to the correct location it must take into account all of these accounts and the times that the user is likely to be accessing them in order to maximize the probability that the user will see the information This will be discussed further in another section
Handling Information Requests
The Intelligent Agent Coordinator handles information requests from other agents in order to personalize information intended for each user and to more accurately reflect each user's interests in the information they are given These requests will commonly be related to the user's profile For instance, if an agent was prepaπng a traffic report for a user it may request the traffic region (search string) of that user from the Intelligent Agent Coordinator All access to the user's profile data is accessed in this method
Maintaining User Profiles User profiles contain extensive information about the users This information is a blend of user-specified data and information that the Intelligent Agent Coordinator has learned and extrapolated from each user's information and activities In order to protect the data contained in the profiles, the intelligent Agent Coordinator must handle all user information requests The Intelligent Agent Coordinator is constantly modifying and updating these profiles by watching the user's activities and attempbng to learn the patterns of their lives in order to assist in the more routine, mundane tasks The Intelligent Agent Coordinator also employs other agents to glean meaning from each user's daily activities These agents mine this data trying to discover indications of current interests, long-term interests, as well as time delivery preferences for each type of information Another important aspect of the Intelligent Agent Coordinator's observations is that it also tπes to determine where each user is physically located throughout the day for roubng purposes
Information Routing Most people are mobile throughout their day The Intelligent Agent Coordinator tπes to be sensitive to this fact by attempting to determine, both by observation (unsupervised learning) and from cues from the environment, where users are or are likely to be located This is certainly important for determining where to send the user's information, but also for determining in which format to send the information For instance, if a user were at her desk and using the web client, the Intelligent Agent Coordinator would be receiving indications of activity from her PC and would know to send any necessary informabon there In addition, because desktop PCs are generally quite powerful, a full-featured, graphically intense version could be sent However, consider an alternative situation the Intelligent Agent Coordinator has received an indication (via the keycard reader next to the exit) that you have just left the building Minutes later the Intelligent Agent Coordinator also receives notification that you have received an urgent message The Intelligent Agent Coordinator, knowing that you have left the building and having not received any other indications, assumes that you are reachable via your handheld device (for which it also knows the capabilities) and sends the text of the urgent message there, rather than a more graphically-oriented version
Inherent innovations
The Active Knowledge Management system represents some of the most advanced thinking in the world of knowledge management and human computer interaction Some of the pnmary innovations include the following • The Intelligent Agent Coordinator as illustrated above
• The development, demonstration, and realization of the theory of Intelligent Information Delivery
• Support for several channels of information delivery, all of which utilize a common back-end For instance, if a user is in front of a Magic Wall the information will be presented in a multimedia-rich form If the system determines that the user is mobile, the information will be sent by to their Awareness Machine in standard text It facilitates delivery of information whenever and wherever a user requires the information
• Personalization of information based not only on a static user profile, but also by taking into account history of the user interactions and current real-time situation including "who, where, and when" awareness
• Utilization of fast and scalable Information Prioritization Subsystem that takes into account Intelligent Agents Coordinator opinion, user preferences, and history of user interactions It takes the load of mundane decisions off the Intelligent Agents part therefore allowing the agents to be much more sophisticated and precise without compromising the system scalability
• Speech recognition and speech synthesis in combination with intelligent agent animated representation and tactile input provides for efficient, intuitive, and emotionally rewarding interaction with the system
Supporting Code in Accordance With A Preferred Embodiment The following code is written and executed in the Microsoft Active Server Pages environment in accordance with a preferred embodiment It consists primarily of Microsoft Jscπpt with some database calls embedded in the code to query and store information in the database
Intention-Centπc Interface
Create an Intention ASP Page ("intention_create.asp") <%@ LANGUAGE = "JScπpt" %>
<%
Response Buffer = true, Response Expires = 0, %>
<html> <head>
<title>Create An lntention</title> </head>
<body bgcolor="#FFE9D5" style="font-famιiy: Anal" text="#000000">
<%
//Define some variables
upl = Server.CreateObject("SoftArtιsans.FileUp") intenbonjiame = upl.Form("intenhon_name") ιntenbon_desc = upl Form("ιntenbon_desc")
//ιntenbon_name = Request Form("ιntentιon_name") //ιntentιon_desc = Request Form("ιntentιon_desc")
/ intentionjcon = Request Form("ιntentιon_ιcon") submitted = upl.Form("submιtted") items = new Enumerator(upl Form) %>
<%
//Establish connection to the database objConnection = Server CreateObjectfADODB Connection") objConnectιon.Open("Maelsfrom")
%>
<%
//Check to see if the person hit the button and do the appropπate thing if (submitted == "Add/Delete")
{ flag = "false"
//loop through all the inputs while(!items.atEnd())
{ i = items.itemO
//if items are checked then delete them ιf(upi Form(ι) == "on")
{ objConnecbon Execute delete from userjntention where intentionjd =" + 1), objConnection Executefdelete from intentions where intentionjd =" + 1), objConnection Execute delete from toolsjojntenbon where intentionjd =" + 1) flag = "true"
} items moveNext()
// if items were not deleted then insert whatever is in the text field in the database ιf(flag == "false")
{ intention jιame_short = intentionjiame replace(/ /gi ") objConnection ExecuteflNSERT INTO intentions (intention ιame,ιntentιon_desc,ιntentιonjcon) values('" + intentionjiame + "','" + ιntenbon_desc + "','" + intention jιame_short + " gif + "')")
Response wπte("the intention short name is " + mtenbon jιame_shorf), upl SaveAs("E development/asp_examples/"+ intentionjiamejshort +" gif)
} }
// Query the database to show the most recent items rsCustomersList = objConnection ExecutefSELECT * FROM intentions") %>
<ιnput type="Submιt" name="return_to_mcp" value="Go to Main Control Panel" onc ck-'iocation href- default asp'">
<form method="post" actιon="ιntentιon_create asp" enctype="multιpart/form-data" >
<TABLE border=0>
<tr><td colspan="2"xfont face="Aπal" sιze="+1"><b>Enter in a new ιntentιon</b></font></td></tr>
<fr><tdxfont face="Aπal">Name </font></td> <td><INPUT TYPE="text" name="ιntention_name"></td></tr>
<tr><td><font face="Aπal">Descπption </font></td><td><TEXTAREA name="ιntention_desc"></TEXTAREA></td></tr> <tr><td><font Image </font></td><td><INPUT TYPE="file" NAME="ιntenbonjcon" sιze=40></td></tr> <fr><td colspan="2"><INPUT type="submιtn name="submιtted" value="Add/Delete"></td></tr> </TABLE> <HR>
<font face="Arιal" sιze="+1"><b>Current lntentions</b></font>
<TABLE>
<fr bgcolor=E69780 alιgn="center">
<td> <FONT color="whιte">Delete</FONT> </td> <TD>
<FONT color="whιte">ltentιon</FONT> </TD>
<TD>
<FONT color="whιte">Descπption</FONT> </TD> <TD> <FONT color="whιte"> lmage</FONT>
</TD> </tr>
<% // Loop over the intentions in the list counter = 0, while (frsCustomersList EOF)
{
%> <tr bgcolor="whιte" style="font-sιze smaller">
<td alιgn=center>
<INPUT type="checkbox" name="<%=rsCustomersLιst("ιntentιonjd ""W)%. ,:>"> </TD> <td> <%= rsCustomersLιst("ιntentιon _name")%>
</td> <td>
<%= rsCustomersLιst("ιntenbonjdesc")%> </td> <td>
<ιmg src=" /ιmages/<%= rsCustomersLιst("ιntentιonjcon")%>"> </td> </tr>
<% counter++ rsCustomersList MoveNext()}
%>
< TABLE> <hr>
Available Tools </form> </BODY> </HTML>
Retrieve Intentions List ASP Page ("intentionsjist.asp") <'- #ιnclude file="ιnclude/check_authenbcabon inc" ->
<HTML>
<HEAD>
<TITLE>mySιte' Intenbons Lιst< TITLE>
<SCRIPT LANGUAGE="JavaScrιpt"> funcbon intenbonsList () {
this mternalArray = new Array(),
<% // establish connection to the database objConnection = Server CreateObject("ADODB Connection"), objConnecbon Open("Maelsfrom"),
// create query intenbonsQuery = objConnection ExecutefSELECT * FROM intentions ORDER BY intentionjiame asc"
%>
// write out the options
<% numOpbons = 0 while ( ntenbonsQuery EOF) { intenbonName = ιntentιonsQuery("ιntentιonjιame intentionlcon = intentionsQuery intentionjcon"),
%>
this ιnternalArray[<%= numOptιons%>] = new Array(2), this ιnternalArray[<%= numOpbons%>][0] = "<%= intenbonName %>", this ιnternalArray[<%= numOptιons%>][1] = "ιmages/<%= intentionlcon %>" <% numOpbons++, intenbonsQuery moveNext(), %> <% } %>
} numlntentions = <%= numOptιons%>, intentionArray = new ιntenbonsLιst() mternalArray, funcbon selectlntenbon () { for (ι=0,κnumlntenbons,ι++) { if (IntentionsListSelect optionsfj] selected) { intentionNameTextField value = ιntenbonArray[ι][0], //intenbonPicture src = ιntenbonArrayp][1], break,
}
}
} </SCRIPT>
</HEAD>
<BODY BGCOLOR="<%=Sessιon("maιn_background")%>" style="font-famιly Aπal">
<CENTER>
<ι_- <FORM NAME="ιntentιon_lιst"> -->
<TABLE FRAME="BOX" border=0 CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="2">
<TR><TD COLSPAN="3" STYLE="font 20pt anal" ALIGN="CENTER"><B>Add a mySitei lntentιon</B>< TDx TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN="3">&nbsp,</TD>< TR>
<TR> <TD wιdth="100"χfont sιze="-1 ">Please Select An Intention You Would Like to Add to Your Lιst</font></TD>
<TD colspan=2>
<SELECT ID="lntentionsLιstSelect" NAME="lntenbonsLιstSelect" SIZE="10" style="font 9pt Anal," onClιck="selectlntenbon()">
<% intenbonsQuery moveFιrst(), for(j=0,j<numOpbons,j++) { %>
<OPTION VALUE="<%= ιntenbonsQuery("ιntenbon jd") %>" <% if 0 == 0) { %> SELECTED <% }
%»
<%= intenbonsQuery intenbon jiame") %> <% intenbonsQuery moveNext()
} intenbonsQuery moveFιrst(),
%> </SELECT>
</TD>
</TR>
<TR><TD COLSPAN="3">&nbsp,</TDx/TR>
<TR>
<TD wιdth="100"xfont sιze="-1">Customιze the Intention name</font>< TD> <TD COLSPAN=2"><INPUT TYPE="text" NAME="ιntenbonNameTextFιeld" ID="ιntenbonNameTextFιeld" SIZE="30"
VALUE="<%= ιntentιonsQuery("ιntentιon_name") %>"></TD> </TR>
<TRxTD COLSPAN="3">&nbsp,</TD></TR>
<TR>
<TD COLSPAN="3" ALIGN="CENTER">
<INPUT TYPE="button" NAME="ιntentιonOKButton" VALUE=" OK " SIZE="10" ID="ιntentιonOKButton" onClιck="javaScπpt top opener top navframe addAnlntentιon(),"> &nbsp,&nbsp,&nbsp,&nbsp,&nbsp &nbsp,&nbsp,&nbsp &nbsp,&nbsp &nbsp,&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp
<INPUT TYPE="button" NAME="ιntenhonCancelButton" VALUE="Cancel" SIZE="10" ID="ιntentιonCancelButton" onC ck-'self close(),">
</TD> < TR> </TABLE>
<i- </FORM> -> </CENTER>
<% objConnection Close(), %> </BODY>
</HTML> Display User Intention List ASP Page (excerpted from "navigation.asp")
<DIV ID="ιntentionlιst" style="posιtιon absolute, width 210, height 95, left 365pt, top -5, visibility hidden, font-family Anal, fontcolor #000000, font 8pt Arial , " >
<DIV style="posιtion absolute, top 7, left 7, height 78, width 210, z-mdex 2, background <%=Sessιon("maιn_background")%>, border solid 1pt #000000, padding 3pt, overflow auto, alink black, link black,"> <body LINK="#000000" ALINK="#000000" vlιnk="black">
<%
// create query
intentionsQuery = objConnection ExecutefSELECT userjntenbon * FROM userjntenbon userjntenbon_to_persona WHERE userjntenbon ojpersona user_personajd = " + Sessιon("currentUserPersona") + " AND userjntenbon Jo jpersona userjntenbon jd = userjntenbon userjntenhonjd" ), numintentions = 0, Response Wπte("<SCRIPT>numιntenbons=" + intenbonsQuery RecordCount +
"</SCRIPT><TABLE cellpaddιng='0' wιdth='100%' cellspacιng='0'>"),
while (i tenbonsQuery EOF)
{ %>
<TR><TD><a href="javascπpt changelntentιon('<%= ιntentιonsQuery("userjntentιon jd") %>','<%=numιntentιons%>')" onmouseover="mouseOverTab()" onmouseout="mouseOutOfTab()"><font color="Black" face="aπaP sιze="-2"><%= ιntentionsQuery("ιntenbon_custom_name") %></font></a></TD><TD><IMG alιgn="nght" SRC="ιmages/delete gif alt="Delete this intention" onClιck="confirmDelete(<%= ιntenbonsQuery("userjntenbon jd") %>)"x TD>< TR>
<%numιntentιons++, intenbonsQuery moveNext(), %>
<% }
Response Wπte("<SCRIPT>numιntenbons="+numιntenbons +"</SCRIPT>"), %>
<tr><td colspan=π2"xhr></td></tr>
<TR><td colspan="2"><a href="javascπpt changelntenhon('add ',<%=numιntenbons%>) " onmouseover="mouseOverTab()" onmouseout="mouseOutOfTab()"><font color="Black" face="arιal" sιze="-2">add </fontχ/a></td></TR> </table>
</body> </DIV> <DIV style="posιtion absolute, top 0, left -5, width 230, height 105, z-ιndex 1 " onmouseout="ιntentionlιst style visibility- hidden" oπmouseout="ιntentionlιst style vιsιbιlιty='hιdden'" onmouseover="ιntenbonlιst style visibility- hιdden'"x/DIV> </DIV> </DIV>
While various embodiments have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not limitation Thus, the breadth and scope of a preferred embodiment should not be limited by any of the above descπbed exemplary embodiments, but should be defined only in accordance with the following claims and their equivalents

Claims

What is claimed is
1 A method for creating a user network interface, comprising the steps of (a) obtaining user profile informabon, (b) gatheπng behavioral information from the user profile information, (c) statistically analyzing the behavioral informabon, (d) generabng graphs indicative of the user's interacbon with applications, and (e) presenting the graphs on a display utilizing agent software
2 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of utilizing an agent to gather user profile information pertaining to application usage and agent utilization to determine characteristics of a user
3 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 including the step of modifying the user profile based on the characteristics of a user according to one or more predefined rules
4 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of summarizing agent behavioral information
5 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of presenting information on a display according to characteπstics of the user
6 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of providing second users with common interests on a display according to characteπstics of the first user
7 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of selecting products for a user based on characteπstics of the user
8 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of providing a set of applications on a display based on characteristics of the user
9 A method for creating a user network interface as recited in claim 1 , including the step of performing agent based actions on behalf of the user based on characteristics of the user
10 An apparatus that creates an information summary, compπsing,
(a) a processor,
(b) a memory that stores information under the control of the processor,
(c) logic that obtains user profile information,
(d) logic that gathers behavioral information from the user profile information, (e) logic that statistically analyzes the behavioral information, (f) logic that generates graphs indicative of the user's interaction with applications, and
(g) logic that presents the graphs on a display utilizing agent software
11 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary, compπsing
(a) a code segment that obtains user profile information,
(b) a code segment that gathers behavioral information from the user profile information,
(c) a code segment that statistically analyzes the behavioral information,
(d) a code segment that generates graphs indicative of the user's interaction with applications, and
(e) a code segment that presents the graphs on a display utilizing agent software
12 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that utilizes an agent to gather user profile information pertaining to apphcabon usage and agent utilization to determine characteristics of a user
13 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that modifies the user profile based on the characteristics of a user according to one or more predefined rules
14 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that organizes the information on a display according to the characteristics of the user
15 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11, including logic summarizes agent behavioral information
16 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that provides second users with common interests on a display according to characteπstics of the first user
17 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that selects products for a user based on characteristics of the user
18 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that provides a set of applications on a display based on characteristics of the user
19 A computer program embodied on a computer-readable medium that creates an information summary as recited in claim 11 , including logic that performs agent based actions on behalf of the user based on characteπstics of the user
PCT/US1999/027217 1998-11-19 1999-11-16 Collection and analysis of user profile information WO2000031671A1 (en)

Priority Applications (2)

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AU19154/00A AU1915400A (en) 1998-11-19 1999-11-16 Collection and analysis of user profile information
EP99962786A EP1131760A1 (en) 1998-11-19 1999-11-16 Collection and analysis of user profile information

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US19639598A 1998-11-19 1998-11-19
US09/196,395 1998-11-19

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WO2000031671A1 WO2000031671A1 (en) 2000-06-02
WO2000031671A9 true WO2000031671A9 (en) 2001-07-19

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AU (1) AU1915400A (en)
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DE10039335A1 (en) * 2000-08-04 2002-02-14 Deutsche Telekom Ag Procedure for recording and evaluating user activities in virtual environments
FR2845847A1 (en) * 2002-10-15 2004-04-16 France Telecom Data volume prediction method for the purposes of design and management of a data network, especially an IP client server network, wherein usage data and raw traffic volume data are combined with software application models
US20100169176A1 (en) * 2006-09-14 2010-07-01 Bhavin Turakhia Method for tracking user behavior and to display advertisements
US9058612B2 (en) 2011-05-27 2015-06-16 AVG Netherlands B.V. Systems and methods for recommending software applications
WO2014059180A2 (en) * 2012-10-10 2014-04-17 Lenahan Michael Connecting buyers and sellers
US10929858B1 (en) 2014-03-14 2021-02-23 Walmart Apollo, Llc Systems and methods for managing customer data
TWI765322B (en) * 2020-08-21 2022-05-21 伊斯酷軟體科技股份有限公司 Knowledge management device, method, and computer program product for a software project

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US5848396A (en) * 1996-04-26 1998-12-08 Freedom Of Information, Inc. Method and apparatus for determining behavioral profile of a computer user
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EP0986901B1 (en) * 1997-06-02 2002-09-18 Sony Electronics Inc. Displaying internet content and television programming

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WO2000031671A1 (en) 2000-06-02
AU1915400A (en) 2000-06-13
TW509854B (en) 2002-11-11

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