Patent Publication Number: US-10762143-B2

Title: Extension of third party application functionality for intent determination

Description:
BACKGROUND 
     Applications that are implemented on devices operating in communications networks are becoming increasingly sophisticated as far as the functions and services that they offer to users. Examples of such applications include personal digital assistants and search engines that are able to process input queries in the form of speech or text and provide answers to questions or facilitate performance of relevant functions for the user of a device. The processing of input queries is done by functions that are able to perform natural language understanding (NLU) processing on the input queries and provide an intent determination so the application can function according to the user&#39;s desires. Several current major mobile device manufacturers and operating system (OS) providers include a personal digital assistant application that is integrated into the OS of their devices. 
     The NLU processing and intent determination for an application is typically mainly performed in a server system/infrastructure that is designed, constructed and maintained by the application provider. The design, construction and maintenance of a server system that provides quality NLU processing and intent determination requires a large amount of resources including experienced manpower, access to knowledge data bases, access to relevant data logs, including query and search histories, processing infrastructure, etc. An aspect of the performance of such a NLU processing and intent determination system that is widely used, for example, with a mobile device or computer operating system, is that the performance of the system benefits from a better quality and more robust system because of the availability of learning feedback loops with large amounts of data from user interactions with the system. 
     Device manufacturers/OS providers also have supported the increasingly and widespread use of applications created by third party developers on their devices. These third party applications provide a wide range of functions. The third party application developers are often smaller companies that cannot provide resources and processing infrastructure for enhanced NLU and intent understanding functionality. 
     SUMMARY 
     This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This summary is not intended to exclusively identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. 
     Systems, methods and apparatus that provide intent determination as a service (IaaS) are disclosed herein. In disclosed embodiments, a third party application may be provided access to an IaaS service that is utilized to determine the intent of queries that may be associated with the third party application. The determination of the intent may then be utilized in the performance of functions or services provided by the third party application. 
     In example embodiments, a third party application installed on a device may access the IaaS system. Access may be realized though registration of the application with the IaaS system. Registration may include exchange of data and information between, or configuration of data and information in, the IaaS system and the third party application/device that allow configuration of data and interfaces for provision of the IaaS services to the third party application. A query received as input at the third party application may be sent to the IaaS system. The intent of a query may be determined by the IaaS system and indicated to the third party application in a query response. The application may then utilize the indicated intent to perform appropriate application functions. 
     In other example embodiments, a third party application installed on a device may interface with a device client, for example an application such as a personal assistant or search engine that is integrated into the operating system of the device, as part of accessing the services of a IaaS system. Access to the IaaS services may be realized by registration of the application with the device client or the IaaS service or with both. Registration may include exchange or configuration of data and information that allows the third party application, device client and the IaaS service to send and receive the appropriate signals and communications that provide the third party application access to the services of the IaaS system. 
     In an example implementation, a query made to the device client may be sent to the IaaS system. The intent of the query may be determined by the IaaS system and sent as a query response to the device client which forwards the query response to an appropriate third party application. Alternatively, the IaaS system may send the response to a query received from the device client directly to an appropriate third party application. The third party application may then utilize the intent indicated in the query response to perform functions. In another example implementation, the device client may send a relevant query to the third party application and the third party application may then communicate with the IaaS system in sending the query and receiving a query response. 
     Embodiments of the IaaS system may be configured to include functions and tools that allow a third party application provider to configure and input relevant intent determination domain models into the IaaS system. The functions and tools may include authorization, and/or validation procedures that maintain a desired security and quality level for the IaaS system. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a simplified block diagram of a network including an embodiment of an intent determination as a service (IaaS) system; 
         FIG. 2  is a simplified block diagram of an example IaaS system for providing intent determination for third party applications; 
         FIG. 3  is a simplified diagram of a IaaS system for providing intent determination for third party applications through a device client; 
         FIGS. 4A, 4B, 4C and 4D  are flow diagrams illustrating operations for providing IaaS service according to example embodiments of the disclosure; 
         FIG. 5  illustrates a network into which a IaaS system according to example embodiments of the disclosure may be implemented; 
         FIG. 6A  is a block diagram of an example device which may be implemented in the system of  FIG. 5 ; and, 
         FIG. 6B  is a block diagram of an example server which may be implemented in the system of  FIG. 5 . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     The system, method and apparatus will now be described by use of example embodiments. The example embodiments are presented in this disclosure for illustrative purposes, and not intended to be restrictive or limiting on the scope of the disclosure or the claims presented herein. 
     The technologies and techniques that are described herein provide embodiments of an intent as a service (IaaS) system. Third party applications may interact with the IaaS system in such a manner that the third party applications are able to offer users services and functions that require intent determination while relying on the resources, infrastructure, and scaling capability of the IaaS system. The functionality of a third party application may be enhanced by the increased functionality and efficiency of having the intent determination service designed, maintained and provided by another party that has access to greater resources and experience in intent determination services. This results in enhanced reliability for the third party applications when utilizing intent determination. It also may provide a reduced error rate for intent determination, for example, more accurate and quicker intent determination from processing a query. Use of learning feedback loops and query mining for updating and creating new models used in intent determination may provide third party applications and the IaaS system with increased functionality and efficiency through the cumulative benefits of having other applications, including other third party applications, using a range of different domains and intents on the same IaaS system together and providing input to the feedback learning loops. 
     An IaaS system according to the disclosure may provide availability and access to the IaaS system functions over a broad scope of domains, intents, and task completion slots for third party applications in a variety of supported languages. The IaaS system may also allow third party applications to make use of multiple explicit and implicit sources of signals and/or data indicating intent including speech, text, gaze tracking, visual recognition, touch, gesture, location, user context, session context, and user inferences that may be analyzed and interpreted using the IaaS system resources. In some embodiments of the IaaS system, third party models including domain, intent and slot models, may be integrated into the IaaS system in association with one or more third party applications that are provided access to system services. This may increase the efficiency and functionality of both of the third party applications and the system. Use of third party models and the ability to use the models on the IaaS system also extends third party model capabilities and effectiveness by expanding the base of knowledge sources that may be accessed and used by the model. 
     A third party application may utilize the IaaS system by accessing the IaaS system from the third party application itself or by accessing the IaaS system in conjunction with another application, for example, a device client integrated into the operating system of a device, such as a search engine client or personal assistant. Integration of a device client into the OS of a device may be implemented by including the code for the client as part of the OS code so that the client may be downloaded upon installation or updating of the OS. Alternately, a device client may be a separate module on a device that communicates with the IaaS system and third party applications to provide the functions of the embodiments. 
     Use of the IaaS system by a third party application in conjunction with a device client extends the functionality and efficiency of both the third party application and the device client. This provides an extension of capability for both device clients and third party applications, for example, in the number of services that may be provided by the device client or by the third party application. The capabilities of a device client may be extended to include the functions of third party applications. This allows the device client to provide intent services across the larger scope of functions provided by the third party applications resulting in improved usability. During a single user session, the device client may provide access within the single session across multiple domains to the services of multiple third party applications that are available through the IaaS system. 
     Third party applications also benefit from inclusion in the ecosystem of the device client/IaaS system through the added functional capability of being able to interact with a larger base of users for providing services. The IaaS system may include registration, authorization, and/or validation procedures that maintain a security and quality level when new third party users and models are added to the IaaS system. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 1 , therein is a simplified block diagram of an example network in which an embodiment of an intent determination as a service (IaaS) system is implemented. Network  100  includes IaaS system  120  that provides intent determination over a domain scope  112  illustrated to include Gaming/media devices  102 , personal assistant client  104 , search engine client  106 , and third party applications  108 - 110 , within the network. 
     In the embodiment of  FIG. 1 , IaaS system  120  may be specifically configured to operate with the operating system of particular devices in the network and with device clients embedded in the operating systems of those devices. For example, personal assistant client  104  and search engine client  106  may be provided by the entity that provides the OS on which the personal assistant and search engine client are implemented and also provides the IaaS system  120 . In the embodiment, IaaS system  120  may also be configured and adapted to provide the intent determination as a service (IaaS) to third parties. For example, IaaS system  120  may provide intent determination as, for example, a web based service, to third party application  108  and third party application  110 . 
     IaaS system  120  may receive queries or query information in the form of explicit inputs or signals  114  generated from user input at gaming media device  102 , personal assistant  104 , search engine client  106 , third party application  108  and third party application  110 , or other types of devices or applications. Explicit inputs/signals may include, for example, speech  116   a , text  116   b , touch  116   c , gesture  116   d , and vision/gaze  116   e  inputs received at a user input of a device or application in network  100 . 
     The queries received at IaaS system  120  may be in a format including raw data, such as raw speech input, that is fed directly to IaaS system  120  or in other formats, such a structured semantic schema configured at the sending application. IaaS system  120  may also receive queries or query information in a format including, or packaged with, implicit inputs or signals  122 , such as, for example, location information  124   c , received from a device. Implicit inputs or signals  122 , such as, for example, session context information  124   a , user context information  124   b , or inferences  124   d , may also be received or generated by IaaS system  120  from relevant data. The term Query as used in this disclosure means any signal, including any type of implicit or explicit input/signal, or packaged information, such as context information, sent for intent determination. 
     The session context information  124   a  may be used by IaaS system  120  as it manages sessions. The system may be implemented so that a session is defined to be a time window including inputs/signals exchanged with one user and one device. User context information  124   b  may be used for managing interactions of a user over, for example, longer time periods than a session or over multiple devices. 
     The IaaS system  120  performs interpretation of queries into a format for a structured representation defined by a semantic schema  142 . The query interpretation may be done by performing domain classification, intent classification and domain specific entity extraction in a context sensitive way. For example, IaaS  120  may extract, cache, and store relevant context information  122  for use in intent understanding. Dialog/answer management  132  may utilize intent/slot carryover models within a single domain or broader dialog experiences, including cross-domain carryover models for task completion  134 . Dialog/answer management  132  may also support system initiated conversation for disambiguation and verification of queries and management of interaction with knowledge sources. 
     Ranking function  138  and relevance  136  functions are used in determining which of possible domain models of the available domain models are best suited for determination of the correct intents for a query response. Ranking function  138  may access knowledge sources in performing its functions. For example, ranking function  138  may determine the validity of query by accessing a system knowledge sources to determine if there is knowledge about the query available in the system. 
     Intent understanding may be performed by mapping of an extracted named entity for a slot filler to the actual entity in the information fabric context. For example, to take the proper action upon user&#39;s instruction “send Alan the LIT LRP document”, the IaaS system  120  may determine which “Alan” is the right recipient and which document is “the LIT LRP document” according to context information in the personal or organizational information fabric, such as data stored in a contacts list and/or company database, on a device user or elsewhere in a network. 
     IaaS system  120  may include a feedback loop including functions for model building  130 , data resources  128  and model management  126 . A bootstrapping model may be used for training with a manually authored grammar or a machine learning (ML) model trained with auto-labeled search engine log data. The feedback loop may be used to improve the system models using online signals received from users&#39; interactions with IaaS system  120 . Third party application providers may provide models and/or data for model building. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , therein is a simplified block diagram of a network including an example IaaS system for providing intent determination to third party applications. In one example implementation, the functions of IaaS  220  shown in  FIG. 2  may be implemented according to functions represented by the block diagram of IaaS  120  in  FIG. 1 .  FIG. 2  shows IaaS system  220  interfacing with third party application  202  and third party application  204 . While two third party applications are shown in  FIG. 2 , IaaS  220  may support any number of third party applications. The third party applications may be installed on any type of device operating in any type of telecommunications network. The third party applications are applications that are developed, deployed or maintained by a vendor or entity other than the operator/provider of the IaaS system. The third party applications may be any type of application that requires or utilizes intent determination. IaaS  220  may also include intent registry  210  for storage of information associated with third party applications that may be used by IaaS  220  in processing queries. 
     The IaaS system  220  may include a feedback loop for updating and building intent determination models that includes query log  214 , transcribe/annotate function  216 , training function  218  and updated model database  222 . The feedback loop may provide the functions provided by model building function  130 , data resources  128  and model management function  126  of IaaS system  120  of  FIG. 1 . The feedback loop may receive data input as seed data  226  as, for example, sample queries for bootstrapping the feedback loop or as data from actual system queries logged in query log  214 . The data may then be transcribed and annotated for terms and queries to be used in intent modeling. The annotated data may then be used to train the models  218 . Updated models  222  may then be provided for input into IaaS  220 . IaaS  220  may optionally include functions for receiving application model building inputs  224  from third party application providers for incorporation in the feedback loop. 
     In the implementation of  FIG. 2 , the service provider that operates IaaS system  220  may provide service to the third party applications, such as third party applications  202 - 204 . System domains may be domains available for use by all third party applications using the system. For example, a restaurant domain would be provided for restaurant reservation booking applications, or a travel domain would be provided for travel reservation booking applications desiring to use the intent determination service system as third party subscribers. Any other types of domain may also be provided for any other third party application requiring intent determination services. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4A , therein is a flow diagram illustrating operations for providing IaaS service according an example implementation of  FIG. 2 . The process begins at  404  where third party application  202  is registered with IaaS  220 . During registration IaaS  220  is configured to receive information relating to third party application  202  and provide information to third party application  202 . Registration as used in this disclosure means receiving any information associated with a third party application in the IaaS system where the information is used for provision of services by the IaaS system. 
     Registration may include any exchange of data and information between, or receiving data and information in, the IaaS system  220  and/or the third party application  202  that allows configuration of data and interfaces in IaaS  220  and in third party application  202  for provision of the IaaS services to the third party application. This includes information for identifying and associating third party application  202  with a domain or domains of IaaS  220 , for example, in intent register  210 , configuring APIs and interfaces for signal exchanges between third party application  202  and IaaS system  220 , and the determination of a format or structure for a semantic schema, used for communication of queries or query responses. The registration at  402  may be done manually or be automated, or be done by a combination of automated or manual operations. The registration may be done over a web service. Registration may include that third party application  202  send information that includes intent information about the third party application  202  for storing in intent registry  210 . The intent information may be used to indicate a domain for a particular application. For example, a restaurant booking application may be associated in intent registry  210  with restaurant booking applications or a travel reservation application may be associated in intent registry  210  with travel booking applications 
     At  404 , upon receiving input that requires intent determination, third party application  202  sends a query to IaaS  220 . At  406 , IaaS system  220  receives the query  212   a  and processes the speech input. At  408 , IaaS system  220  determines third party application  202  parameters and models from the intent registry  210 , processes the query  212   a  using the information indicating that the query is relevant for a particular domain. IaaS  220  then determines the intent of the query at  410  and configures a query response that indicates the determined intent of the query. At  412  IaaS  220  sends the query response  212   b  to third party application  202 . At  414 , third party application  202  then interprets the query response  212   b  and processes the request by performing the appropriate function. The query and/or query response may be, for example, in an XML format, in a format for HTML that is defined as part of the IaaS service or that is a format for HTML customized for the third party application. 
     In an example implementation of  FIG. 4A , the third party application  202  may be configured on a device to include speech processing capability allowing application  202  to send a coded speech signal to IaaS  220 , or alternately, third party application  202  may pass raw speech as a query to IaaS  220  where the speech is decoded For example, at  404  third party application  202  may utilize a device microphone to receive and pass speech including a query  212   a  through to IaaS  220 . Alternately, third party application  202  may create an audio file from user voice input as query  212   a  and pass the audio file to IaaS  220 . As an example, a user may ask third party application  202  to “book a table for 4 at 5 pm at an Italian restaurant this evening”. At  406 , IaaS system  220  receives the query  212   a  and processes the speech input. 
     At  408 , IaaS system  220  determines third party application  202  parameters and models. For example, IaaS system  220  may determine that third party application  202  is a restaurant reservation application from the intent registry  210 , process the query  212   a  using the information indicating that the query is relevant for a restaurant domain. IaaS  220  then determines the intent of the query at  410  and configures a query response that indicates the determined intent of the query. The query response  212   b  may be in a format or a structure for a semantic schema format indicating the intent to make a reservation conforming to the criteria of: (Italian, 4 pm, 5 people). IaaS  220  may access the schema repository of IaaS  220  to determine the appropriate structure for the query response. At  412  IaaS  220  sends the query response  212   b  to third party application  202 . At  414 , third party application  202  then interprets the query response  212   b  from the semantic schema and processes the request by making the reservation. 
     In other example implementations, IaaS system  220  may also be configured to receive a query as other types of input, for example, as explicit inputs/signals  114  shown in  FIG. 1  from any type of natural user interface (NUI). In certain example implementations the device operating system on which third party application  202  is installed may include, for example, vision tracking, optical character recognition, bar code reading, or gesture tracking functions that provide data to the third party application for inclusion with the query sent to IaaS  220 . Alternately, third party application  202  may include functions that collect these inputs/signals themselves, from the device or from device accessories. IaaS system may also utilize other inputs, such as implicit input/signals  122 , such as GPS data or context data, shown in  FIG. 1  for use in determining the intent of a query. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 4B , therein is a flow diagram illustrating operations for providing IaaS service according to another example implementation of the system of  FIG. 2 .  FIG. 4B  illustrates a scenario in which third party application  202  may interface with a device control function that controls an accessory device, receive input from the device control function and interact with IaaS  220  to process the input for intent determination. Third party application may be registered with IaaS  220  at  416  of  FIG. 4  to be allowed to access the intent determination services of IaaS  220 . The registration at  416  may include similar operations as described previously for step  402  of  FIG. 4A . 
     Referring again to  FIG. 4B , at  420  third party application  202  receives the input/query from the device control function. At  420  third party application  202  may package the data from the accessory control function and send it as a query to IaaS  220  which receives the query at  422 . 
     At  424 , IaaS system  220  determines third party application  202  parameters and models. For example, IaaS system  220  may determine that third party application  202  is an application having a particular domain from the intent registry  210 , IaaS may then process the query  212   a  using the information indicating that the query is relevant for an appropriate domain, IaaS  220  then determines the intent of the query at  426  and configures a query response that indicates the determined intent of the query. The query response sent from the IaaS  220  to the third party application  202  may be configured similarly to as was described for operation  410  of  FIG. 4A . 
     At  430 , third party application  202  would then interpret the query response  212   b  from the format of the semantic schema and process the request by performing the appropriate functions. In implementations of  FIG. 4B , the query and/or query response may be, for example, in an XML format, in a format for HTML that is defined as part of the IaaS service or in a format for HTML customized for the third party application. 
     In an example implementation of  FIG. 4B , the device control function may be a control function that controls a device accessory such as, for example, a pair of glasses equipped with voice reception capability and a vision tracking camera for optical recognition, a microphone, a camera, a data sensor, or any other accessory that may provide input to the third party application appropriate for use in intent determination. For example, a user of the accessory device may look at a restaurant in a certain location, activate third party application  202  and say, for example, “book me a table for 2 at this restaurant tonight at 7 pm”. At  420 , the accessory control function may then pass the voice input audio and an optically coded file including an image of the restaurant to third party application  202  Third party application  202  may package the data from the accessory control function and send it as a query to IaaS  220  which receives the query at  422 . At  424 , IaaS system  220  determines third party application  202 &#39;s parameters and models. For example, IaaS system  220  may determine that third party application  202  is a restaurant reservation application from the intent registry  210 , process the query  212   a  using the information indicating that the query is relevant for a restaurant domain. IaaS system  220  may use the audio and optical recognition file information, and device location information to determine the identity of the restaurant and the intent at  426 , configure a query response, and return a query response  212   b  to third party application  202  at  428 . 
     The query response  212   b  may comprise a format or a structure for a semantic schema indicating the intent to make a reservation conforming to the criteria of: (Name of restaurant, city, 4 pm, 5 people). IaaS  220  may access the schema repository of IaaS  220  to determine the appropriate structure for the query response. At  430 , third party application  202  would then interpret the query response  212   b  from the format of the semantic schema and process the request by making the reservation. 
     In the example embodiments of  FIG. 2 , third party application providers may be provided the capability to input their domain models for use in the IaaS system  220  as model building inputs  224 . The third party application providers may be allowed involvement in the model building by providing seed data  226  to transcribe/annotate function  216 , or by providing models directly to updated models function  222 . System  220  may include a verification/validation function that validates a third party provided model by checking that the semantic schema output by the model is compatible with the semantic schemas stored in the schema repository or otherwise used by IaaS system  220  for communicating with other clients and third party applications. 
     The third party provided models may be used as “public” or “private” models in IaaS  220 . A public model would become available to all third party users of the intent service. A private model would be used only for the third party that provided the model. Third party models that are public provide all users of IaaS system  220 , including the provider of IaaS  220  and other third party users, the benefits being able to rely on models created using the resources and expertise of others across different domains and, for example, different languages. 
     The quality of intent determination services provided by IaaS system  220  may be improved by the cumulative effect of a greater amount of data going into the feedback loop for learning through different third parties joining the IaaS system and/or providing models. A system default may be set to make all models input to the system public unless specifically requested by the third party model provider. A third party model provider may designate a third party model be kept private. This may be done, for example, if the model provides the third party with advantages based on the third party&#39;s experience and expertise in a particular area. Private models may also be utilized for third party application providers that provide specialized applications, such as for example, enterprise services. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 3 , therein is a simplified diagram of a network including an example IaaS system for providing intent determination for third party applications working in conjunction with a device client. In the implementation of  FIG. 3 , third party application  314  interacts with device client  302  so that queries related to third party application  314  may be serviced by IaaS system  308 . The implementation provides an extension of capability for client  302  and third party application  314 . For example, the capabilities of client  302  are extended to include the functions of third party applications  314 . This allows client  302  to provide intent services across a larger scope of functions. Third party applications also benefit from inclusion in the ecosystem to which device client  302  belongs by being able to provide functions to a larger number of users. 
     In one example implementation, client  302  may be integrated into the device operating system (OS) of a device on which third party application  314  is installed or be implemented in a separate software module. IaaS  308  of network  300  may be implemented similarly to IaaS  120  of  FIG. 1 . The third party application  314  is an application that is developed, deployed or maintained by a vendor or entity other than the operator/provider of the IaaS system  308 . Device client  302  comprises application/software that may be provided by the manufacturer/supplier of the device operating system or another entity, and which may be integrated into the device operating system or implemented by a separate software module. In one example implementation the manufacturer/supplier of the device operating system may be the operator/provider of the IaaS system  308 . 
       FIG. 3  shows IaaS  308  as including functional blocks for conversational understanding (CU) work flow  310  and query annotation service (QAS)  312 . CU work flow  310  manages work flow for queries that are to be processed by QAS  312  and QAS  312  runs the models for query understanding.  FIG. 3  shows front door (FD)  304  and renderer  306  as example interfaces between IaaS  308  and client  302 . FD  304  provides load balancing and denial of service functions. Renderer  306  provides rendering services that format exchanged information according to the device on which client  302  and third party application  314  are located. IaaS  308  may also include the functions for a feedback loop similar to that shown in  FIG. 2  by the query log  214 , transcribe/annotate function  216 , training function  218 , updated models store  222 , and application model building inputs  224 , and which functions in a similar manner. In  FIG. 3  the provision of intent determination services that determine intent of queries associated or related with third party application  314  provide extended capabilities to both third party application  314  and client  302 . 
     In an example implementation, client  302  may be implemented as a personal assistant that is integrated into the OS of a device on which third party application  314  is installed or implemented by a separate software module. Access to the IaaS services may be realized by registration of third party application  314  with the client  302  or with IaaS  308  or with both. Referring now to  FIG. 4D , therein is a flow diagram illustrating operations for providing IaaS service according the example implementation of  FIG. 3 . 
       FIG. 4D  illustrates the example in which client  302  may be interacting with third party application  314 , At  454  third party application  314  is registered with IaaS  308 . Registration may include exchange or configuration of data and information that allows the third party application, device client application and the IaaS service to send and receive the appropriate signals and communications that provides third party application  314  access to the services of IaaS  308 . 
     At  456 , client  302  receives a query which may be in the form of user input to the device client and sends the query to IaaS system  308 . IaaS  308  receives the query and, at  458 , determines the intent of the query. At  460  IaaS  308  sends a query response to the device client  302 . Device client  302  receives the query and, at  462 , determines that the query response is for third party application  314 . Assistant  302  may make the determination at  462  using information included with the query response from IaaS  308  that identifies third party application  314  as the intended recipient. Alternately, assistant  302  may make the determination at  462  based on an indication that the query response is for a particular domain along with information within device client  302  indicating that third party application  314  is an third party application providing a function within that particular domain. Also, alternatively, assistant  302  may also access intent register  316  at  462  to determine that a query response related to the particular domain may be sent to third party application  314 . The third party application may be any type of application that such as, for example, a restaurant reservation application, a travel reservation application, calendar application, or any other type of third party application that may act to perform functions in response to the query response. 
     In cases where assistant  302  is operating on a device with more than one third party application providing the same function installed, for example, two or more restaurant applications, a feature may be implemented in the user interface of assistant  302  to prompt a user to determine which application from a choice of available third party reservation applications will be sent the query response. This determination feature may be used for any situation in which multiple applications of the same domain may be selected from. 
     In an alternative, in the situation in which multiple applications of the same domain may be selected from, IaaS system  308  may choose the third party application before the query response is sent. This may be done by using any relevant data or context information, for example, the IaaS system  308  may determine that a particular third party application is best suited to make a restaurant reservation because the application has indicated to the system that it has priority rights over other reservation applications in the country or area in which the device is located. In another alternative the IaaS ranker may have determined over time that one application performs a function better or completes tasks better than others. 
     Upon determination that third party application  314  is the correct application to receive the query response assistant  302  may send the query response to third party application  314  at  464 . The query response may comprise a response in the format of a predetermined structure defined by a semantic schema indicating the intent to make a reservation conforming to the criteria of the query. IaaS  308  may access the schema repository of IaaS  308  to determine the appropriate structure for the query response to assistant  302  that may be forwarded to third party client  314 . Third party application  314  may then process the query response as appropriate. In implementations of  FIG. 4D , the query and/or query response may be, for example, in a format, such as, an XML format, an HTML format that is defined as part of the IaaS service or, a format for HTML customized for the third party application. 
     Alternatively, the IaaS system  308  may send the response to a query received from the device client application  302  directly to the third party application  314 . The third party application  314  may then utilize the intent indicated in the query response to perform appropriate functions. 
     In implementations of  FIG. 3 , a device user may have a session with the device client  302  and within the single session may be provided access across multiple domains to the services of multiple third party applications that are available through the IaaS system  308 . For example, a personal assistant, as device client  302 , may receive input instructing the device client  302  to “Book a taxi to the airport at 2 pm, book a flight to Seattle at 4 pm and reserve a table at an Italian restaurant in Seattle at 7 pm”. The device client could then interact with the IaaS system  308  to determine the appropriate intents and send query responses for a taxi reservation application, a flight reservation application, and a restaurant reservation application. 
     In another alternative, client  302  may interface with third party application  314  and third party application  314  may access IaaS system  308 .  FIG. 4C  shows an example in which client  302  interacts with third party application  314 . The process begins at  434  where third party application  314  is registered with IaaS  308 . Registration may include exchange or configuration of data and information that allows the third party application, device client application and the IaaS service to send and receive the appropriate signals and communications that provides third party application  314  access to the services of IaaS  308  through the operations of  FIG. 4C . 
     At  436 , client  302  receives a query which may be in the form of user input at the device requesting that a particular task or action be performed. Client  302  may then determine that the query may be forwarded to third party application  314  by accessing intent register  316  at  438  and determining that third party application  314  handles queries in the appropriate domain. Client  302  may configure and package the query by managing a dialog with a user. For example, client  302  may provide a series of questions to the user to elicit responses that include information that may provide a query that includes complete information for the query If intent register  316  indicates that the device on which client  302  is operating has multiple applications installed that are associated with the same domain for a particular task or function, client  302  may offer the user of the device to choose from a user interface which application they want to use. At  440 , client  302  sends the query information to third party application  314 . 
     At  442  third party application configures and sends the query to IaaS system  308 . IaaS  308  receives the query at  444  and, at  446 , determines the intent of the query. At  448  IaaS  308  send the query response to third party application  314 . The query response may comprise a response in a format for a structure for a semantic schema format indicating the intent to make a reservation conforming to the criteria of the query. IaaS  308  may access the schema repository of IaaS  308  to determine the appropriate structure for the query response to third party client  314 . Third party application  314  may then process the query response as appropriate. The query and/or query response be, for example, in a XML format, a format for HTML that is defined as part of the IaaS service or format for HTML that is customized for the third party application. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 5 , therein is illustrated an example system  500  in which embodiments of this disclosure may be implemented. In  FIG. 5 , system  500  is shown as including communication networks  514 , a server  510  that is coupled to storage devices  520   a  and  520   b , a server  512  that is coupled to storage devices  522   a  and  522   b , mobile device  502 , mobile device  504 , laptop computer device  508  and gaming/media device  506 . Servers  510  and  512  are illustrated as single servers but each may be representative of server functions or server systems provided by one or more servers or computing devices that may be co-located or geographically dispersed. The term server as used in the present disclosure is used generally to include any computing devices or communications equipment that maybe implemented to perform the functions and processes of the IaaS system of the disclosed embodiments. Also, while devices  502 - 508  are shown as implemented as an example smart phone, a tablet computer, a Gaming/media device and a laptop computer device, respectively, each of the example devices  502 - 508  may be alternatively implemented as any other type of device, or number of devices, or system that may be configured with functionality supporting the third party applications, the device clients and the IaaS processes disclosed herein. These other types of devices include for example, a desktop personal computer (PC), a smart television, a home theater system, a smart automobile system, a smart house system, a multimedia cable/television box, a smart phone accessory device, a tablet accessory device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable media player, a smart watch, an industrial control system, etc. 
     In an example implementation, the functions provided by IaaS system  120  of  FIG. 1  may be implemented on a server such as server  510  and/or server  512 . Each of devices  502 - 508  may be configured to include third party applications that access and utilize the IaaS system  120 . The third party applications are then able to incorporate intent determination in the functions and services provided to users of devices  502 - 508 . 
     Servers  510  and  512  each may include one or more processors, or processing units, and memory, or other types of storage medium, including instructions in the form of code which when executed controls the server to implement the functions and processes of the example embodiments of the IaaS system. The communications networks  514  provide connectivity for communications between device  502 - 508 , servers  510  and  512 , and other devices that may be connected to communications networks  514 . Communication networks  514  may include one or more internet protocol (IP) networks comprising routers and switches for routing internet traffic carried in IP data packets and is not limited to a particular type of network. For example, communications networks  514  may include one or more wide area networks (WANs) or one or more local area networks (LANs) implemented in LAN topologies using a protocol such, for example, as Ethernet, TCP/IP, Frame Relay, Ethernet, FTP, HTTP, or a similar protocol. 
     Communication network  514  also may include one or more wireless or landline networks that provide the network interfaces shown at interfaces a-f, respectively, for device  502 - 508  and servers  510  and  512  to communications network  514 , so the various devices can communicate with each other over communication network  514 . The wireless or landline networks of communications networks  514  that provide interfaces a-f may be comprised of any type of network that provides an appropriate network interface. For example interfaces a and b for device  502  and device  502  may be implemented on a wireless channel provided by a cellular network or on a Wi-Fi channel provided by a Wi-Fi access point of communications networks  514 . Also, the interfaces c and d which interface to device  506  and laptop  508  may be implemented over Wi-Fi, and interfaces e and f to servers  510  and  512  may be implemented over high speed fiber optic cable that connect servers  510  and  512  to the one or more IP networks of communications networks  514 . Also, communications network  514  may include a Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) having land-line and cellular telephone terminals, or a network featuring a combination of any of the above mentioned networks. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6A , therein is an example block diagram of a device  600 , according to which one or more of devices  502 - 508  of  FIG. 5 , or alternative implementations of the devices of  FIG. 5 , may be implemented. Various individual implementations of the devices  502 - 508  may differ and may each include more or less functions than, or variations of, the functionality shown by the blocks in  FIG. 6A . Device  600  may include processor  616 , which, while shown as one functional block, may be implemented by one or more processors or other circuitry. Use of the term processer in this disclosure is meant to cover all such implementations. Device  600  also includes memory  618  which may be implemented as any type of storage in device  600 , including non-volatile and volatile memory. Memory  618  includes instructions in the form of code for running the operating system, applications, and third party applications in conjunction with processor  616  to control the operations of device  600 . Memory  618  also may include data such as media data, camera photos and videos, contact data, calendar data, and other files used in the operation of third party applications on device  600  that utilize an IaaS system. For example, information stored in memory  618  may be used as the implicit inputs/signals  122  shown in  FIG. 1 . 
     Device  600  may also include operating system (OS)  632  and client/applications  630 , that provide functions which are implemented by processer  616  and execution of code in memory  618 , such as personal assistant  104  and third party application  108  of  FIG. 1 . In an implementation, processor  616 , memory  618  and client/applications  630  may be configured to control the device to implement the APIs, the communications processing and interfaces, and the signal exchanges that allow third party applications installed on the device to access and utilize an IaaS system such as IaaS system  120 . 
     Processor  616  controls data reception and transmission over communication interfaces that may include, for example, physical connectors  602 , Bluetooth transceiver  604 , infrared (IR) transceiver  606 , near field communications (NFC) function  608 , RF transceiver  610 , Wi-Fi interface  611  or Wi-Fi-direct interface  615 . Processor  616  may also interface with and control global positioning service (GPS) receiver  612  and position/movement sensor  614  that may be utilized to provide implicit inputs/signals to a system such as IaaS system  120  of  FIG. 1 . Position/movement sensor may include an accelerometer or gyroscope. 
     Device  600  may also include accessory devices  634  that communicate with the device over one or more of the communication interfaces. Accessory devices may include, for example, headsets, a pair of glasses equipped with voice reception capability and a vision tracking camera for optical recognition, a smart watch, or any other type of accessory device that communicates with device  600 . RF transceiver  610  and Wi-Fi  611  may enable wireless communication and file transfer with other devices or networks, such as network  604  according to various communication technologies, such as, for example, LTE, CDMA, TDMA or GSM/UMTS cellular, and IEEE 802.11 Wi-Fi, or other wireless technologies. Bluetooth transceiver  604  provides short-range-RF communications with other Bluetooth or Bluetooth low energy (LE) capable devices. Wi-Fi-direct interface  615  may also provide short range communication with other Wi-Fi-direct capable devices and near field communications (NFC) function  608  provides short range communications capabilities with other devices equipped with NFC. Physical connectors  202  may be used to enable data connections and transfer of data through a physical communication interface connection. 
     Processor  616  may communicate with and control alert  620 , which may be a vibrator or audio alert, a touch screen/keypad  622 , a speaker  626 , a microphone  624 , and a camera  628 . The touchscreen/keypad  622  may be implemented as a user interface, for example as a separate touchscreen or keypad, or as a touch screen, that may have a virtual keypad capability, and that may interact with client/applications  630  and other functions of device  600  to allow a user to input commands and selections. The user may use touchscreen/keypad  622 , for example, to manage and control interaction with IaaS services at servers  110  or  112  or to manage communications on appropriate communications interfaces with the services and other devices in the system according to the processes described herein. 
     The various alternative implementations of user interfaces that may also be used in the processes described herein also include interfaces usable with devices such as device  600  that may provide explicit inputs or signals, such as those of natural user interface (NUI)  114 , as input to IaaS system  120  of  FIG. 1 . This includes, for example, audio/speech recognition from speech received at MIC  624 , gesture sensing or recognition at touch screen/keypad  622 , positioning/movement sensing at sensors  214 , or interfaces using camera image recognition or bar code recognition at camera  628 , or any other type of interface by which a user may provide input to device  600  for sending to IaaS  128 . Device  600  may also provide information to IaaS system  120  that is used as the implicit inputs/signals  122  to IaaS  128  of  FIG. 1 , such as device location information from GPS  612 . NUI means any interface technology that enables a user to interact with a device in a “natural” manner. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 6B , therein is illustrated an example block diagram of a server according to which one or both of server  510  or server  512  of  FIG. 5  may be configured when an IaaS system such as IaaS system  120  of  FIG. 1  is implemented in the network  500 . Various implementations of server  510  or  512  may differ and may each include more or less functions than, or variations of, the functionality shown by the blocks in  FIG. 6B . Server  650  includes data storage  660 , network interfaces  668 , work flow (WF)/QAS service/resource manager  672 , and memory  664 . WF/QAS Service/resource manager  662  may include a processor or processing units  662 , and, memory  664  may include control programs  666  for implementing the functions of the IaaS system  120  of  FIG. 1 . Processor or processing unit may comprise one or more processors or processing units. Network interfaces  668  may comprise any type of interface that provides capability to server  650  to communicate and exchange data with clients/applications and third party applications on devices, such as devices  502 - 508 , and other servers/databases over communications networks  504 . Memory  664  may be implemented as any type or number of storage devices, including non-volatile and volatile memory. Memory  664  includes instructions and control programs  666  in the form of code for the managing of WF/QAS services and resources of a service such as that of IaaS system  120  and for the performing of other functions in conjunction with WF/QAS service/resource manager  672  and processing unit  662 . 
     The example embodiments disclosed herein may be described in the general context of processor-executable code or instructions stored on memory that may comprise one or more computer readable storage media (e.g., tangible non-transitory computer-readable storage media such as memory  618  or  664 ). As should be readily understood, the terms “computer-readable storage media” or “non-transitory computer-readable media” include the media for storing of data, code and programming instructions, such as memory  618  or  664 , and do not include portions of the media for storing transitory propagated or modulated data communication signals. 
     The present disclosure provides embodiments including a system providing intent determination services in a network. The system includes an apparatus comprising a processor and memory including code. The code is executable to cause the processor to control the apparatus to receive information associated with a third party application, the information for provision of intent determination services, receive a query, determine an intent of the query, configure a query response indicating the intent of the query, the query response in a format configured for the third party application, and send the query response. In further embodiments, the embodiment of the system described in this paragraph may be combined with one or more of the alternatives in the following paragraphs. 
     In an alternative implementation of the system described in the previous paragraph the information is associated with registration of the third party application and the information is received over a web service. 
     In a further alternative implementation of the system the code is executable to cause the processor to further control the apparatus to send information associated with registration of the third party application to indicate a format to be used for configuring query responses for the third party application. 
     In another alternative implementation of the system, the received information includes model building inputs associated with the third party application and the processor configures the system to utilize models created from the model building inputs for intent determination. 
     In another implementation of the system, the apparatus is implemented in a server, the processor comprises a first processor, and the system further comprises a device including a second processor and memory including code. The code is executable to cause a device client to receive a query generated at the device client and send the query to the apparatus. The apparatus is controlled to receive a query by receiving the query from the device client and send the query response by sending the query response to the device. 
     While embodiments have been disclosed as having functions implemented on servers and/or devices operating in a network, one or more of the functions may be implemented on different types of equipment. For example, one or more of the functions in the IaaS system shown as implemented on a server located in network infrastructure may be implemented on a device, such as mobile device, laptop computer or any other suitable device operating in a network. 
     While the functionality disclosed herein has been described by illustrative example using descriptions of the various components and devices of embodiments by referring to functional blocks and processors or processing units, and memory including instructions and code, the functions and processes of the embodiments may be implemented and performed using any type of processor, circuitry or combinations of processors and/or circuitry and code. This may include, at least in part, one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), etc. 
     Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example embodiments, implementations, and forms of implementing the claims and these example configurations and arrangements may be changed significantly without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, although the example embodiments have been illustrated with reference to particular elements and operations that facilitate the communication process, these elements, and operations may be replaced by any suitable devices, components, architecture or process that achieves the intended functionality of the embodiment. Numerous other changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications may be ascertained to one skilled in the art and it is intended that the present disclosure encompass all such changes, substitutions, variations, alterations, and modifications as falling within the scope of the appended claims.