Symbolic Conversation Modeling Used As Abstract Part of the User Interface

Norbert Braun

Department of Digital Storytelling

Computer Graphics Center, Rundeturmstraße 6

64283 Darmstadt

Germany

Norbert.Braun@zgdv.de http://www.zgdv.de/distel

ABSTRACT

The art of conversation is a well-known interaction type between humans. Human-computer interfaces that follow this metaphor struggle with complex problems of speech understanding, speech generation and intelligent conversational behavior in general. This paper presents an approach that gives a simple, explicit symbolic model of conversation between human and computer to be used by interface designers as an abstract platform of conversational interaction – without being forced to regard the basic implementations of speech systems or graphical anthropomorphic avatars or virtual humans and therefore free from the problems of basic media manipulation.

Keywords: conversation, human-computer interaction, symbolic modeling, artificial intelligence, computer games.