Ontology-based application server to the execution of imperative natural language requests

Abstract

This paper is about using ontologies to help the execution of imperative requests expressed in natural language. In order to achieve this goal, we developed the prototype of an Ontology-Based Application Server to the execution of Natural Language requests (NL-OBAS). The NL-OBAS provides services to allow users to describe requests in several natural languages and uses software components to execute them. One of the advantages of our approach is that natural language is first converted to an interlingua, UNL (Universal Networking Language). The interlingua allows the use of different human languages to express the requests (other systems are restricted to English). The semantics of the interlingua, enhanced by ontologies, is used to retrieve the appropriated software components to compose a dynamic service to execute the requests expressed in natural language. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2008.