Question Answering system is, as I said in the previous article, a method based on natural language, whose aim is to locate a piece of information within a large document.
As I’m not going to talk again about the same topic, I think is a good idea to give examples of Question-Answering systems, as I didn’t do it before, and it can be a good way to understand better the concept.
If we take a look on the internet, we will be able to find many different Question Answering systems. Let’s see some of them:
- Powerset: A system that wants people to interact with technology by making the computer understand our language. You can ask for information by making questions (“Who is the President of the USA?”), by using keywords (“Usa president”), phrases (“The president of the USA”)… This system will give you an answer immediately. Take a look at it here.
- Asimov the Chatbot: Asimov is a chatbot that learns from people. He is able to learn the facts that people tell him, so his answers are more clear everytime. It was first developed to just answer to questions, but you are able to mantain a conversation with him nowadays. Take a look at it here.
- Answers.com: It works thesame way as Powerset does. You can make questions, write keywords, phrases… this Question Answering system will find an answer for you. Take a look at it here.
- AnswerBus: It works as Powerset and Answers.com. Take a look at it here.
- Start: It also works as Powerset and most of the other Question Answering systems. Take a look at it here.
- Anna: Anna is an assistant of Ikea. She will help you through the Ikea website and she will answer to any doubt you have. Take a look at it here.
So, this are some great examples of what we call Question-Answering systems which may help you understand better what this system is and how it works.
References:
- Powerset. In Powerset.com. Retrieved 19:05, May 21, 2009, from: http://www.powerset.com/
- About Powerset. In Powerset.com. Retrieved 19:15, May 21, 2009, from: http://www.powerset.com/about/
- Asimov the Chatbot. In Chatbots.org. Retrieved 20:03, May 21, 2009, from: http://www.chatbots.org/chatterbot/asimov
- The START Natural Language Language Question Answering System. In Start webpage. Retrieved 20:14, May 21, 2009, from: http://start.csail.mit.edu/
- Question Answering Engine. In Answers.com. Retrieved 20:30, May 21, 2009, from: http://www.answers.com/bb/
- AnswerBus Question Answering system. In Answerbus.com. Retrieved 20:40, May 21, 2009, from: http://www.answerbus.com/index.shtml
- IKEA te ayuda. In Ikea.es. Retrieved 20:50, May 21, 2009, from: http://193.108.42.79/ikea-es/cgi-bin/ikea-es.cgi
