IP Library Granted Patent US 8,660,844
Granted Patent B2
US 8,660,844 · App. 11/933,734 · Granted Feb 25, 2014

System and method of evaluating user simulations in a spoken dialog system with a diversion metric

Inventor: Jason Williams (New York, NY)
Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I, L.P.
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 8,660,844
App. No.
11/933,734
Granted
Feb 25, 2014
Kind
B2
Abstract

Systems, methods and computer-readable media associated with using a divergence metric to evaluate user simulations in a spoken dialog system. The method employs user simulations of a spoken dialog system and includes aggregating a first set of one or more scores from a real user dialog, aggregating a second set of one or more scores from a simulated user dialog associated with a user model, determining a similarity of distributions associated with each of the first set and the second set, wherein the similarity is determined using a divergence metric that does not require any assumptions regarding a shape of the distributions. It is preferable to use a Cramér-von Mises divergence.

Claims (24)

1. A method comprising:

aggregating, via a processor, a first set comprising a score from a real user dialog and aggregating a second set comprising a score from a simulated user dialog associated with a user model; and

determining a similarity of distributions associated with each of the first set and the second set, wherein the similarity is determined using a divergence metric that does not require any assumptions regarding a shape of the distributions, wherein the divergence metric is normalized.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the divergence metric is a Cramér-von Mises divergence.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the determined similarity measures a parameter associated with the user model.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the parameter measures how good the user model is at simulating real users.

5. The method of claim 3 , further comprising:

modifying one of the user model and the spoken dialog system based on the parameter associated with the user model.

6. A system comprising:

a processor; and

a computer-readable storage medium having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

aggregating a first set comprising a score from a real user dialog and aggregate a second set comprising a score from a simulated user dialog associated with a user model; and

determining a similarity of distributions associated with each of the first set and the second set, wherein the similarity is determined using a divergence metric that does not require any assumptions regarding a shape of the distributions, wherein the divergence metric is normalized.

7. The system of claim 6 , wherein the divergence metric is a Cramér-von Mises divergence.

8. The system of claim 6 , wherein the determined similarity measures a parameter associated with the user model.

9. The system of claim 8 , wherein the parameter measures how good the user model is at simulating real users.

10. The system of claim 8 , the computer-readable storage medium having additional instructions stored which result in the operations further comprising modifying one of the user model and the spoken dialog system based on the parameter associated with the user model.

11. A computer-readable storage device having instructions stored which, when executed by a computing device, cause the computing device to perform operations comprising:

aggregating a first set comprising a score from a real user dialog and aggregating a second set comprising a score from a simulated user dialog associated with a user model; and

determining a similarity of distributions associated with each of the first set and the second set, wherein the similarity is determined using a divergence metric that does not require any assumptions regarding a shape of the distributions, wherein the divergence metric is normalized.

12. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11 , wherein the divergence metric is a Cramér-von Mises divergence.

13. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11 , wherein the determined similarity measures a parameter associated with the user model.

14. The computer-readable storage device of claim 11 , the computer-readable storage device having additional instructions stored which result in the operations further comprising:

modifying one of the user model and the spoken dialog system based on the parameter associated with the user model.

Assignments (1)
ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNOR'S INTEREST Recorded Nov 1, 2007
From: WILLIAMS, JASON
To: AT&T LABS
Reel/Frame 020053/0484 →
Continuity (2)
Provisional Application 60982325 · Oct 24, 2007
Related Publication 20090112586A1 · Apr 30, 2009