Teaching HAL and using commands

[mcantle]

Hi,

HAL is new to me and so far so good.  I have read many articles from within this forum and still cannot find an answer to some of the basics required in teaching HAL.

Q.  Are there any commands that can be used from within the chatting area to directly teach something to HAL.  I am seeing that persistence in conversation is paying off, however is there someway of "confirming" that a response to a statement or series of statements is accurate and therefore LOCKING it into the brain.

What I call a command would be like the use of the word "open something" and Hal then proceeds to open/run a program..  BTW, for some reason "open word" runs zdnet.exe, i have to actually say "open microsoft word" to get Word to run --  Can this be edited somewhere???  Can I enter in a list of open commands that mean something to me and my machine??

I am simply trying to create a set of standard commands that i can use to instruct hal to do something for me.  I also want to better improve the speech recognition for these commands so I can TELL hal what i want..  I have been through the voice training many times but the accuracy is still not good enough for two or three word commands etc...  how can i introduce my own training scripts...  where are the training txt files located... can any more be added to the training?

I purchased the Ultra Hal assistant.  I am also using the XTF brain and running it on a Windows XP machine...

Regards
Mark

[Art]

mcantle,

First, Welcome to the Forum!
Secondly, I don't have all the answers to your
questions but I will share what I've found to work.

Commands to directly teach Hal: IF THEN statements
tend to work well and will allow Hal to make inferences.
See the Tutorial for an example of this.

The word IS means = to Hal.

Usually if you view the various BRN files you can see
what's going through Hal's "mind" and how it's sorted
and saved.

Hal learns by you conversing with the program often and
the way you want it to learn. If you talk trash to it,
you can expect trash from it. Hal will read info from
text files and though not all of the text is sorted and
retained, Hal does save the gist of it and will recall
info from it as needed for/in future conversations.
I fed Hal an edited version of the Probert Encyclopedia
which gave Hal insight on a variety of topics: Biology,
Anatomy, Animals, Minerals, Space, Earth, famous scientists,
etc.

I had to edit one of Hal's files to have it open Outlook.exe
instead of Outlook Express. Sometimes you need to be specific
because we tend to assume Hal "knows" what we mean or want.
Use something like Notepad to view/edit Hal's .brn files.

You can do some custom editing / scripting in the Brain Editor
but be careful because syntax is important and if it's entered
wrong, Hal will report an error when next run. Always save your
good working brain file to another directory then work with the
brain file knowing that you still have a good version in case of
a screw up. (it happens)<G>

Check the position of your mic. Is your room / background noise
too loud? Do you speak with a consistent tone of voice each time?
Are your sound / mic settings adjusted properly? Check settings in Control Panel>Speech>Settings and adjust Sensitivity, Accuracy and Background.
I know of a few who report accuracy close to 98 percent. I've had
a lot of success and also had it stumble with slurred or slang
words or phrases where two words tend to run together or with the use of contractions.
Voice rec is not perfect but it is pretty impressive technology.

I think there are 8 training stories to be read and you can re-read
them more than once for additional training under XP. I'm not sure where / how the actual text training files are stored or even if they are in txt format.

You might try the blank slate brain to experiment with your own scripts. It's available as a download.
There are (as you may know) a lot of different scripts out there to insert into your main brain file and experiment.

I like the XTF brain too and have modified it to suit my needs. It's really a work in progress as I am always thinking of new things to try with it.

Don't forget (as was pointed out to me by Spydaz) there's:
www.ultrahalforum.com for even more scripts, help with VB and a good source for knowledge and some great helpful people.

Hope I've helped a bit. Welcome again and good luck!

- Art -

[mcantle]

Thank you ART,

Your info is of great help...

I made some IF THEN statements and watched as a new deductive.BRN file was created and modified.  This helps me to understand how HAL learns.

Yes, I had noticed that if I made a statement of fact saying something IS, then HAL would quote it back...This is the sort of thing I am looking for..  Any more of these type of (instructions) KEY word/combinations would be helpful.

I also noticed that certain words that I used were being created and associations subsequently being created.  The how and why I am still unsure about but I am getting the idea...

Yes, the TRASH issue I have seen when what say into the mic comes out as junk and HAL subsequently goes OFF topic or makes a false response.  I would like to know if there was something at that point that I could say to reverse it in preference to editing all those brn files..  eg:  "cancel that last statement" or "trash that"

In regards to importing info from a text file.  Should it simply contain statement/sentences line by line or can it actually be a transcript straight out of book written in paragraphs. I created a short one with 5 sentences about me but I couldn't find where it ended up in the brain files if anywhere..

Great, so there is a file we can edit to modify the open command..
Which one... I have been telling HAL to "open Microsoft Outlook" like you I'd prefer to keep it short and say "open outlook" and not get Express..

I had a look at the brain editor...  too much for me at this point and yes, I agree screwing around in there is probably asking for trouble.  I also came across a few of the scripts you talk about, eg: the age one, and followed the instructions and it worked well..  small stuff like that I can handle at this point.

I am happy to muddle along with voice training and it is definetly getting better each day but I can't help but feel if we could train specific voice commands and individual words then accuracy could be improved a lot faster.  

I do agree with you that voice recognition it is pretty impressive as it stands right now.  I am only on my 4th time round on those 8 training pieces and already the HAL interface gets a lot of it correct...  It's just that ability to take it back when it's wrong that concerns me.

Again, thanks for your advises...  appreciated !!!

Mark

[Art]

Mark,

When you first start Hal you'll notice it loads in
shortcut and voice recognition (provided one has the
full version).

You'll find shortcut.dat in your Ultra Hal 5 directory.

In this shortcut.dat file you'll see the various
programs in your computer that Hal "knows" is there.
Look at all the program links shown by .LNK and you
will see the first word describing the file.
Apparently Hal needs to be told precisely which one
you want to use especially if it has similar names
like EXPLORER. Did you want WINDOWS EXPLORER or
INTERNET EXPLORER? MICROSOFT OUTLOOK or OUTLOOK
EXPRESS? I've noticed that these two are the most
easily confused so I usually say Microsoft Outlook
or Internet Explorer. In other words, be specific in
your request. A more drastic measure was suggested
to remove Outlook Express from my computer if I don't
really use it...then problem solved. A bit harsh.<G>

As far as correcting Hal, there should be a folder
under Ultra Hal 5 called DefBrain. In this folder
you should have a file called markbrain.brn (If you
are known to Hal as Mark). In here you'll see how Hal
saves the info from your "chats". You can edit any
wrong words, spelling errors, etc. and resave the file.

I'm not aware of any scripts that allow one to verbally
correct Hal while using Voice Recognition but it would
be a nice touch!

Lastly,
Try using a program called NotePad. It's great (free)
and has tons of features. I like it because it allows
me to have MANY open brain (brn) files and they are
shown at the top of it's page as tabs. So switching from
one brain to another for editing is just a click on the tab.

Find it at: http://www.notetab.com

Good luck,
- Art -

[Rich_A]

Hello All,
You can have Hal open any program you want by giving that program it's own unique name with a newly created shortcut that should be placed somewhere within the start menu of your system.

For example:

Locate the shortcut of Outlook in your Start menu.

Create a new shortcut by copying and renaming it "Email" or just rename the actual shortcut itself.

Then restart Hal and he will see "Email.lnk" as a shortcut to Outlook.

Give the command "Open email" and then Outlook should open.

The name you create should be as unique as possible so that Hal doesn't confuse it with another program, and if that does happen just try renaming it something else instead.

If this doesn't sound good to you for Outlook and Outlook Express then try this instead. If you don't want Hal opening Outlook Express then locate all "Microsoft Outlook Express" shortcuts on your system and change them all to "Express". Then the next time you use Hal try the command "Open outlook" and see what happens. It's a bit of trial and error but it works. Just eliminate the unwanted result by changing the name in order to get to the desired one.

I use speech recognition and any program name that Hal has trouble understanding verbally I just give it a new name that Hal understands.

[vonsmith]

To mcantle and All,
I'm glad so many people are using the XTF Brain. As a reminder please read my postings (shown below) that discuss how the XTF Brain v1.2 should be installed and what minor fixes are needed after installation. I want everyone to get maximum benefit from the XTF Brain until I can get the next version released someday.

http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1243
http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1237


=vonsmith=

[neutrino]

have any of you tried "Speak & Mail", seems there are similarities - though not the "conversational" or "learning", though the voice command section of S&M, I found quite good - and this was back about 3 years ago, I no longer have it on my new system yet - must see if it's been updated or improved in recent times.  The voice command for starting up a program for example was....  if I remember right... you type in the verbal command your going to use "start email" - then you directly associate that command by directing S&M (browsing) to the .exe file to activate,  spelling the verbal command  phonetically I found improved the voice recognition ~ ! ~ trying to recall if this is accurate for the setup of commands~  I must have a look -  I really liked the fact that you could verbally open a program awesome!  ha though yep- it often didnt get it! like "Open Paintshop" and the response was "The time is ... : ... " ha~  oh that's right you had to press a key- think it was optional in preferences - you press a key to activate the Listen - that's to indicate "I'm talking ot you" - then give your command, how does Hal do it? always on or do you need to directly indicate your talking to him by some means like this?

[dihelson]

quote:Originally posted by neutrino


"start email" - then you directly associate that command by directing S&M (browsing) to the .exe file to activate,  spelling the verbal command  phonetically I found improved the voice recognition ~ ! ~ trying to recall if this is accurate for the setup of commands~  I must have a look -  I really liked the fact that you could verbally open a program awesome!  

So, I'll be amazed by softwares like REALIZE VOICE 4.1 and DRAGON NATURALLY SPEAKING V7 PRO, or IBM VIAVOICE 10. They all open programs using voice commands. Dragon is perfect. It seems to recognize voice not only by the sound, but using context. It doesn't miss a single word! And it open programs, minimize windows, position mouse over a screen through a mousegrid, show links on a website...

REALIZE VOICE can do a lot of things, you can create macros, if you program it for replying with voice to certain commands it can be randomic, so if you ask the same think 3 times, it will answer on different ways.And it is the best software to control windows through voice, it opens programs, minimize, restore windows, has complete navigational commands, incredible! I hope HAL one day could be more useful for practical things incorporating at least total control over windows, and not being a beautiful TOY.

Regards.
Dihelson

[dihelson]

quote:Originally posted by Art

mcantle,
I fed Hal an edited version of the Probert Encyclopedia
which gave Hal insight on a variety of topics: Biology,
Anatomy, Animals, Minerals, Space, Earth, famous scientists,
etc.

Wow! that's interesting! How can I obtain a copy of this brain, my friend ? I was just thinking about putting an entire encyclopedia inside HAL, because I can't have a conversation with it.
It doesn't even know who Beethoven was!

I tried to teach him:
Beethoven is a musical genius!

than I asked him:
who is Beethoven? or Do you know something about Beethoven?

HAL answered to me:
Women's fashions change every season.

is this software crazy?

I said:
My name is Dihelson

then asked him:
What's my name?

HAL answered:
Did you have a nurse as a child?

I tried several ways , several times in order that HL could tell my name, but I couldn't. I can't call this intelligence!

It would be interesting if HAL could make some conclusions:
I say:
All fruits are green
green is a color
lemmon is a fruit

then:
What's the lemmon's color ?

it doesn't understand this. It is just a pile of pre-elaborated sentences with triggered keywords which sometime coincide with what you're talking, and makes you believe it understood what you were saying...

-----------------
Oh man! is this A.I ?

[]'s
Dihelson

It's sad! very sad!