Narval
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Narval |
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New framework for developing intelligent personal assistants in a few mouse clicks.
While it is true that the concept of "agency" had its ups and downs in the past few years, intelligent agents remain one of the focal points for AI researchers around the world. Now when the hype is over, much of the hard work has to be done slowly and seriously. Both startups and software giants like IBM are concentrating their efforts on producing more efficient tools and utilities that would really deserve the adjective "intelligent". This time I'll present a new GPLed framework (language + interpreter + GUI/IDE) for developing intelligent personal assistants. Don't worry, it won't be too technical: this tool enables users to create their custom recipes in a few mouse clicks, just by assembling basic building blocks and specifying the conditions associated to the transitions that link blocks together.
Logilab, a French startup specialized in in the field of artificial intelligence, recently launched Narval, the Intelligent Personal Assistant. In their own words, better than a new piece of software, it is a new approach to computer interaction that aims to modify the relationships between human beings and the information world. As we put the marketing lingo aside, it is clear that in this incarnation (release 1.0), Narval isn't targeted at average computer users. You'll need to follow an impressive checklist and download the following packages (Windows users only, but UNIX fans will have to do almost the same): python 1.5.2, pyxml 0.6.5, 4Suite 0.11, PyGTK version 0.6 for Win32, xmlrpc version 0.9, xmltools version 1.2... Sounds scary, I admit, but it turned out to be quite straightforward. However, after this experience, learning the basic stuff about Narval should be a breeze.
Introductory documents say that Narval borrows from advanced techniques like Petri nets, rule-based systems, programming by contracts, planning, automated learning, component programming and XML, to let user release the pressure of repetitive work. However, the complexity of underlying principles is hidden by an innovative approach to developing personal assistants. The basic concept is aptly named a recipe: it is a sequence of actions linked by transitions, graphically represented as a graph. There are, for instance, recipes that classify and automatically answer to e-mails, or recipes that can download and parse the new Web pages inserted on a given Web site. Conditions can be associated to transitions so you can control the execution path through the graph. However, a recipe cannot be executed directly - it is only a specification kept in memory. Applying a recipe is done through the creation of a plan. Plans are easily visualized using a graphical user interface named Horn, making life much easier for users with limited knowledge of Python.
Narval uses XML to represent everything, from simple pieces of information to action prototypes. Recipes are executed by passing XML fragments from one action to another, following the philosophy of the Unix pipes. Only this time, the stream of execution goes through a graph, not a sequence. Gurus amongst you that are familiar with the concept of programming by contracts will also appreciate a permanent run-time verification mechanism. But less experienced users, by far the largest group, will simply see Narval as a tool for creating personal assistant in a few mouse clicks. However, there are several important "intelligent" features that are missing at the time of this writing: planning, learning and cooperation with other assistants. Narval's ambition is to become the best Intelligent Personal Assistant available on the Net and to grow into a software that really deserves the adjective "intelligent". According to the documents found on their Web site, developers at Logilab are currently working on such advanced features.
Narval is a free software tool that can be downloaded from the Logilab development site. Full documentation is also available. Here you'll find several real-world personal assistants used at Logilab: virtual secretary, manager for bug reports and fixes, project manager, job applications manager, etc.