Patent ID: 8407281

Claim:
An automated system for issuing at least one alert when a natural language message pertaining to a current or a future event potentially conflicts with event information comprising: a first set of one or more input devices for receiving the natural language message entered by a user and transmitting the natural language message to an intention determination system; a second set of one or more input devices providing the event information to the intent determination system, the event information including a current event known to the system, a future event predicted by the system, or one or more events specified by another natural language message pertaining to a current or future event; the intention determination system including an input processor for receiving the natural language message and the event information, wherein the input processor includes a preprocessor for determining a report type for the natural language message and a plurality of processors, each processor for processing messages of a specific report type, wherein the preprocessor determines that the natural language message is of a first report type, that the event information is of a second report type based on the source or content of the event information, transfers the natural language message to a first one of the plurality of processors based on its report type for processing, and transfers the event information to a second one of the plurality of processors based on its report type for processing; the intention determination system including a language converter for converting the natural language message and the event information spatial-temporal language stings representing events, the spatial-temporal language stings stored in a database and including an event, a type of event, time of event, duration of event, areas associated with an event, other characteristics of event, environmental condition information, and reference information in the database, wherein the database is enhanced using temporal query language features including, timestamping records of spatial-temporal language string as they are entered in the system, or noting the time during which the event information is valid; and the intention determination system including a rule-based analyzer for determining if execution of the natural language message complies with the intent of a user issuing the natural language message prior to issuance of the natural language message for execution based in part on an analysis of the spatial-temporal language strings received from the language converter and a plurality of messages and reference information in the database, and issuing an alert in case of a potential conflict wherein potential conflict is a conclusion that one or more events represented by the spatial-temporal language strings is incapable of being completed.