modeling parallel state charts for multithreaded multimodal dialogues
In this paper, we present a modeling approach for the management of highly interactive, multithreaded and multimodal dialogues. Our approach enforces the separation of dialogue content and dialogue structure and is based on a statechart language enfolding concepts for hierarchy, concurrency, variable scoping and a detailed runtime history. These concepts facilitate the modeling of interactive dialogues with multiple virtual characters, autonomous and parallel behaviors, flexible interruption policies, context-sensitive interpretation of the user's discourse acts and coherent resumptions of dialogues. An interpreter allows the realtime visualization and modification of the model to allow a rapid prototyping and easy debugging. Our approach has successfully been used in applications and research projects as well as evaluated in field tests with non-expert authors. We present a demonstrator illustrating our concepts in a social game scenario.
multithreading multimodality dialogue modeling