摘要
This paper attempts to approach the interface of a robot from the perspective of virtual assistants.Virtual assistants can also be characterized as the mind of a robot,since they manage communication and action with the rest of the world they exist in.Therefore,virtual assistants can also be described as the brain of a robot and they include a Natural Language Processing(NLP)module for conducting communication in their human-robot interface.This work is focused on inquiring and enhancing the capabilities of this module.The problem is that nothing much is revealed about the nature of the human-robot interface of commercial virtual assistants.Therefore,any new attempt of developing such a capability has to start from scratch.Accordingly,to include corresponding capabilities to a developing NLP system of a virtual assistant,a method of systemic semantic modelling is proposed and applied.For this purpose,the paper briefly reviews the evolution of virtual assistants from the first assistant,in the form of a game,to the latest assistant that has significantly elevated their standards.Then there is a reference to the evolution of their services and their continued offerings,as well as future expectations.The paper presents their structure and the technologies used,according to the data provided by the development companies to the public,while an attempt is made to classify virtual assistants,based on their characteristics and capabilities.Consequently,a robotic NLP interface is being developed,based on the communicative power of a proposed systemic conceptual model that may enhance the NLP capabilities of virtual assistants,being tested through a small natural language dictionary in Greek.
