Symmetric multimodal interaction applied to database design and normalization

A normal conversation between two people is typically multimodal, using both speech and gestures to effect communication. It is also symmetric because there is two-way multimodal interaction between the two parties. In contrast, when a human interacts with a computer, it is done through a strict and limited interface, usually a keyboard or mouse. Unlike the human-human conversation, this interaction is neither multimodal nor symmetric. The goal of this thesis is to empower computers to carry out symmetric, multimodal dialogues with humans, thereby providing a more natural human-computer interaction. To do so, we modified and extended Adler's Multimodal Interactive DialOgue System (MIDOS) to be a more flexible and domain-independent platform for supporting symmetric, multimodal interaction. We built an application that utilizes MIDOS in order to design and implement a normalized relational database, and then demonstrate the application's capabilities by using it to design the database for an after-action report wiki.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2010

Author dc:creator

• Oleinik, James Roy

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Randall Davis.

• Electrical Engineering and Computer Science.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/61176

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/61176