Title: Bridging the semantic gap in distant communication: providing complementary knowledge within a context

Authors: Nilar Aye, Fumio Hattori, Kazuhiro Kuwabara

Addresses: College of Information Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga-ken, 525-8577, Japan. ' College of Information Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga-ken, 525-8577, Japan. ' College of Information Science and Engineering, Ritsumeikan University, 1-1-1 Noji Higashi, Kusatsu, Shiga-ken, 525-8577, Japan

Abstract: This paper introduces a multi-agent system to bridge the semantic gap during a conversation between people of different knowledge levels. The system is intended to support smooth communication for providing a definition or explanation of keywords on a specific subject by means of text and graphical format to online users with poor skills. In this framework, software agents act as a personal assistant that monitors the user|s information. The Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol (XMPP) is used for agent message transport and instant messaging (IM) at the same time. Although the conversation keyword is identical, the provision of information is different depending on the user|s level of knowledge. The paper describes a sample scenario of computer usage operations in an English composition class that can effectively be applied in a teaching environment. We create domain ontology for students to perform mapping with the teacher|s ontology to solve the semantic heterogeneity problem. Bridging the semantic gap helps users to communicate easily without considering the knowledge barrier.

Keywords: semantic gap; multi-agent systems; MAS; ontology mapping; distant communication; agent-based systems; knowledge levels; XMPP; agent message transport; instant messaging; language teaching; English language; English composition; semantic heterogeneity.

DOI: 10.1504/IJIIDS.2010.034079

International Journal of Intelligent Information and Database Systems, 2010 Vol.4 No.3, pp.195 - 211

Published online: 09 Jul 2010 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article