Charlotte is a talking TV guide. She can help users find out what is on TV, when their favourite programme is on, or when their favourite type of programme is on.
Charlotte is implemented as a chatbot. She uses our standard SpeechBot engine but with two important additions:
- a set of AIML cases which are used to pattern match the users request, eg "what is on BBC1 tonight". Essentially a natural language query interface
- a bespoke module designed to provide a standard
interface for the AIML to the BBCTVAPI TV schedule web service.
While Charlotte is presented here with an animated avatar and text-to-speech, these are just one specific interface style. The application will with just a set of plain text dialogue boxes.
Channels
Currently Charlotte only has access to BBC 1 and 2 for generic queries (eg what's on tv), but she can also access all BBC channels for channel specific queries.
The BBC web service is updated every day and stores the next 7 days' data.
Charlotte can also use the standard TV Anywhere format we can implement Charlotte for any TV or radio station or network which makes its programming information in this format, or as a web service. Please contact us for details.
Queries
Charlotte can accept questions in a wide variety of phrasings. Some of the phrasing she supports are:
What is on tv tonight What is on tv tomorrow What is on tv monday What is on tv _ What is on tv on monday What is on tv this morning What is on tv this afternoon What is on tv this evening What is on tv on _ morning What is on tv on _ afternoon What is on tv on _ evening What is on tv on _ night What is on tv now What is on tv next What is on _ now What is on _ next What is on now What is on next What is on _ tonight What is on _ tomorrow What is on _ this morning What is on _ this afternoon What is on _ this evening What is on _ tonight What is on _ tomorrow morning What is on _ tomorrow afternoon What is on _ tomorrow evening What is on _ tomorrow night What is on tv tomorrow morning What is on tv tomorrow afternoon What is on tv tomorrow evening What is on tv tomorrow night What is on tv on _ What is on _ on _ morning What is on _ on _ afternoon What is on _ on _ evening What is on _ on _ night When is _ on What time is _ on When is _ on on _ What time is _ on on _ When does _ start What channel is _ on When does _ end How long is _ on for How long does _ last What is _ about What happens on _ What happens on _ this week What is _ about this week Does _ have captions What _ is on this week Are there any programmes on _ this week Are there any programmes about _ this week Are there any programmes about _ today Are there any programmes about _ tomorrow Are there any programmes about _ this _ Are there any _ programmes this week Are there any _ programmes today Are there any _ programmes tomorrow Are there any _ programmes this evening Is _ on this week Is _ on this _ Is _ on tonight Is _ on _ this week Is _ on _ this morning Is _ on _ this afternoon Is _ on _ this evening Is _ on _ tonight Is _ on _ tomorrow Is _ on tomorrow Are there any _ programmes on this week Are there any _ programmes on today Are there any _ programmes on tomorrow Are there any _ programmes on this evening Are there any _ programmes on tv this week Are there any _ programmes on tv today Are there any _ programmes on tv tomorrow Are there any _ programmes on tv this evening Are there any _ programmes on the (tv box) this week Are there any _ programmes on the (tv box) today Are there any _ programmes on the (tv box) tomorrow Are there any _ programmes on the (tv box) this evening
... where _ is a wildcard standing for the channel, date, time, programme or tag.
Responses
A real challenge is how to present what could be a large amount of data in a conversational style. The approach that Charlotte takes is to extract the 3 or 4 longest programmes for any desired request - on the basis that these are likely to be the most useful responses. Of course it does have its drawbacks when BBC News 24 kicks in at midnight...
Bugs
Charlotte is currently only a demonstration system, so we know there are a few bugs lurking in there. Any major ones we'll report here.
- Charlotte gets confused by repeats at the moment since they share the same CRID (at URL for the programme). We'll fix that soon.
Future Development
Things we'd like to do to improve Charlotte still further include:
- more natural phrasing when listing out long results lists (eg neighbours is on monday to fridat at 12.30 and 6.45).
- better use of keyword searches against the programme tags
- even more natural language patterns
Talk to Charlotte - non javascript link
Charlotte is supported by BBC Backstage.
