Messages

46

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Another "how do I" question (file size)

« on: April 01, 2004, 12:58:29 am »

Kmac,

Please keep us all posted on your progress!  It sounds great!

I've experimented with the "Blank Slate" brain, and found that after enough conversation to generate 20 to 30 "pages" of data in the database, the brain becomes remarkably accurate, with fairly low repetition!

The key is to be VERY careful, and remember that for EVERY remark you make to the Blank Slate brain, it is paying attention to the relationship between what IT says, and what YOU say back.

The Blank Slate brain affords an opportunity to create a 100% original personality that is 100% customized to the user, and to do it very rapidly!

When you have some transcripts later on, please give us some excerpts!

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Don

47

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Sound messed up...

« on: April 01, 2004, 12:45:22 am »

Hello,

I responded to your other (duplicate) posting.  Please let us know how it's going (at the other posting).

Sincerely,

Don

48

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Sound messed up...

« on: April 01, 2004, 12:44:16 am »

Hello DyeTracks,

I want to make sure I understand the symptoms and sequence of events correctly.  Correct me if any of the following are incorrect:

1.  Before installing Ultra Hal, both your left and right speakers operated normally with normal volume on all programs and sound sources.

2.  As soon as you installed Ultra Hal, only your left speaker operated, and then only with the volume turned way up high.

3.  You un-installed Ultra Hal, and now your speakers still have weak sound on the left and no sound on the right; is that correct?

4.  You mentioned that you have plugged "headphones into the speaker port." Does this mean that you have completely unplugged the speakers from the computer, and connected a set of headphones directly into the stereo audio port on the computer?  Or, does it mean that you have plugged the headphones into a "headphone port" on the speakers?

For a thorough process of elimination, the first item that I would examine is a possible loose connection somewhere between the computer and the speakers; a partially plugged-in stereo jack will often produce weak, one-sided sound.  I have had stereo jacks come loose from very minor bumps to the computer.

If you eliminate that possibility by plugging known good speakers directly and firmly into the computer's stereo sound card port, it seems to take us to the sound card itself.

Is there a "sound" icon on your lower-right system tray?  If you double-click it, does it open an "advanced audio level control window?"  On many computers, you can individually set the volume and balance for CD audio, wave audio, microphone audio, etc., along with "main" audio.  I would check to make sure that all the settings look normal, and that nothing appears to be changed or set to "mute."

I'm not a Zabaware employee, but I THINK I heard Robert Medeksza of Zabaware state that the text-to-speech engines produce mono sound (that comes equally out of both speakers).  I'm drawing a blank trying to figure out how an Ultra-Hal installation could cause this behavior from the sound card.

What happens when you play audio from a completely different source, such as from the CD player?  Do you still get weak audio from the left speaker only, and no sound from the right?

We have a lot of helpful and knowledgeable people on this forum, so perhaps with your verification of the above information, our members can come up with more ideas.

Sincerely,

Don

49

Ultra Hal 7.0 / Robot Head

« on: March 31, 2004, 11:59:03 pm »

Hello,

I will definitely put my "thinking cap" on; I want to make sure that I correctly visualize what you are planning to do.

Are you building a "robot head" in which a monitor-screen is the "face" on the "head" of the robot?  

And do you want Hal to be full-screen so that the talking character will occupy the entire screen to form the "face?"

If so, we will need some help from Zabaware/Robert Medeksza, since we'll need some modifications to the program "outside the VBS chat script."  I think that the area of attention will be the creation of a "skin" that occupies the entire monitor screen and does not display any text from either the user or from Hal.

Another approach, of course, would be to build an animated head similar to a doll-head (or a mannequin-head) and have the lips move with the voice.  There is a thread on one of these forums titled "$59 animated Santa" that describes how a synchronized talking snowman, or synchronized talking Santa, could be dis-assembled, re-dressed, and re-purposed as a male or female Ultra-Hal character.  In fact, according to their postings, some Hal users have successfully connected such animated figures to Hal!

Tell us a bit more about the options you are considering, and the options you prefer, and I am sure the many creative forum members here will try to contribute to advancing your project.

Sincerely,

Don

50

Ultra Hal 7.0 / definetly no brain

« on: March 31, 2004, 01:56:43 am »

Hello,

For better performance on specific-recall of facts, try the Enhanced Brain 5e just put up on the following posting:

http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=913&whichpage=2

During the de-bugging of 5e, I discovered a restriction in one of the routines that handles specific-recall.  Enhanced Brain 5e should give you better responses in situations such as the following:

User:  Jill Evans is Personnel Director.
Hal: All personnel should report to the front office.

User: Who is Jill Evans?
Hal: Jill Evans is Personnel Director.

(Unfortunately, it still can't intercept and report back on appointment data, since that is handled "outside the script.")

Let me know how it goes for you.

Thanks, and have a good day!

Sincerely,

Don

[Download Attachment:]

51

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Try This New Auto-Topic Generating Brain

« on: March 31, 2004, 01:37:34 am »

Hello,

Attached below is the latest Enhanced 5e Brain for Ultra Hal.

This brain has the following features:

1.  Completely backward-compatible with the Zabaware default brain and previous "Auto-Topic" brains and files.

2.  Contains a number of bug fixes and conversation-smoothness improvements.

3.  Contains an enhancement for specific-recall to help Hal remember who, what, where, etc.

4.  Contains a modification to cause Hal to distinguish new memories by BOTH User Name AND Hal Name.  This means that different characters can develop different memories.  

5.  Hal will be able to read your existing auto-topic databases if you used a previous auto-topic brain.

6.  Contains a fix to the math function to reduce false triggers, and to allow Hal to understand that "times" can mean "multiply by."

7.  Contains some re-prioritization of routines to improve the entertainment value of responses.

To download and install, right-click on the download below, choose SAVE TARGET AS, and save the file into the following directory/folder path on your local computer:

C:/Program Files/Zabaware/Ultra Hal Assistant 5

(Note that our forum software cannot display backslashes, but the forward slashes above are supposed to represent backslashes.)

The next time that you freshly start Hal, you should be able to find Enhanced Brain 5e when you choose OPTIONS, BRAIN.

Select this brain and you should be up and running.

NOTES TO VONSMITH:  

1.  I haven't disabled the WordNet "sisters" routine yet but I truly appreciate your findings on this subject; I will strive to do this on the next release.

2.  Please take a look at the revised "math function" section.  In my opinion, the math work-around/upgrade should be a part of every brain, and you might want to consider it for your next version of the XTF brain.

Thank you all, and have a great day!

Sincerely,

Don

Download Attachment: 5e Enhanced Brain.uhp
159.87 KB

52

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Another "how do I" question (file size)

« on: March 31, 2004, 12:45:19 am »

Hello Kmac,

Pursuant to your project, please also check out the following posting regarding a "Triva Quiz Brain."  It is completely open to modification:

http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=839

Sincerely,

Don

53

Ultra Hal Assistant File Sharing Area / Download This Demo Trivia Quiz Brain

« on: March 31, 2004, 12:36:56 am »

Hello Kmac,

The brain posted at the top of this conversational thread demonstrates how the <topic> capability, and some VBS programming, can create a fun and entertaining educational quiz, delivered by Ultra Hal!

This is reference to the following forum posting:

http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1299

Sincerely,

Don

Don

[Download Attachment:]

54

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Another "how do I" question (file size)

« on: March 31, 2004, 12:19:29 am »

Hello Kmac,

Now that I see what your project is, I might be able to offer an additional resource.

I've posted many auxiliary, enhanced, and experimental brains on these forums over the years.  At the bottom of this message is a new one for you, the "Blank Slate Brain."

Here are the properties of the "blank slate brain":

1.  This brain has the absolute minimum functions. It does NOT do jokes, greetings, insults, goodbyes, trivia, capitals, math, dates, etc., etc.  It is designed to know AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE until it talks with you.

2.  It only writes and reads to one database, "blankslate.brn."  

3.  It associates each remark YOU make to the PREVIOUS remark that IT made.  It knows essentially nothing until you begin talking to it and tell it something.  

4.  If it doesn't find anything in its memory, it simply poses your statement back to you as a question, and learns from your next response.  

5.  If you know how to edit databases, you will find that you can easily edit its database.

6.  Because the script for this brain is only 241 lines long, and it has a small database, response time is practically instantaneous.

7.  Because this brain has no prior knowledge, its quality is 100% dependent upon YOU.  This brain is capable of uncanny accuracy, BUT it depends on YOUR behavior.

8.  To install this brain, right-click the download, and choose "save target as."  Save it to this directory/folder path on your computer:

C:/Program Files/Zabaware/Ultra Hal Assistant 5

(Remember, our forum software can't display backslashes, so we use forward slashes instead.  Your computer directory/folder path should show backslashes as usual.)

The next time you freshly open Ultra Hal, this new brain should show up on the options - brains menu.  Select it, and you're off and running!

I hope that this helps you with your project.

Sincerely,

Don


Download Attachment: Blank Slate Brain.uhp
10.45 KB

55

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Another "how do I" question (file size)

« on: March 29, 2004, 11:31:59 pm »

Hi VonSmith,

I really appreciate your pointing out that "GetSisters" issue and forum thread.  I had skimmed over it at the time, and now it makes perfect sense.  

Evidently the reason that it appears to happen at random, is that it only happens when the routine is called, and it obtains an extremely long response.

For some reason, it occurs very rarely for me, but I'll put it on my list of things to deal with.

Again, thanks!

Sincerely,

Don

56

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Another "how do I" question (file size)

« on: March 29, 2004, 11:23:52 pm »

Hello Kmac,

Thank you for the positive feedback!

I tried sending some extremely long test strings to Hal for output, and you are correct; Hal does not allow unlimited-length responses!  I had never run up against this limit before!

I don't know of anything in the VBS script which would cause this limit; therefore I have to believe it is in the .exe file and "outside the VBS script."

If your particular Hal application needs Hal to be able to speak long sections of text, I can think of two "work-arounds."  One would be relatively easy, and for the other we would need the help of other developers on this forum:

1.  You might be able to double Hal's current "word capacity" by using the <topic> </topic> function.  This special function allows you to have Hal say some remarks, and then "hold back" some additional words until you hit the enter key again.  This function is used to allow Hal to tell riddles, and you can see examples within the "topics.brn" database.  A remark like this would be written something like the following:

"The middle ages saw further development of governance concepts. <Topic> The middle ages also saw an increase in arts and literature. </Topic>"

You might experiment with this construction and see whether this doubles your capacity, or whether the .exe is going to limit your combined total to the previous capacity.

2.  The more difficult work-around would be to design and create databases with your narrative content as "chunks," and automatically call them one after another, using some sort of a timer to trigger one after another.  I am thinking that the "auto response" function described elsewhere on this forum might be adaptable to this purpose.  I haven't done any work with the auto response function myself, but from reading other postings, I see that other developers have been highly successful at making Hal say things without any prompting by the user.  It would seem logical that this could be adapted to make Hal make speech #1, then speech #2, then speech#3, etc.

I apologize that I can't think of an easier fix or workaround.  Thank you for letting me know about this particular characteristic of Hal.

Sincerely,

Don

57

Programming using the Ultra Hal Brain Editor / Another "how do I" question (file size)

« on: March 29, 2004, 10:19:16 am »

Hi Kevin,

I'll answer your second question first:

2)  I don't know of any function built into Hal to close other programs.  Possibly some of the other volunteer contributor/developers here might know of a way to create this function.

1)  Pertaining to "Stopping after a certain number of words":

a) Do you mean that Hal won't say more than a certain number of words during any one remark?  

b) Or, does Hal stop functioning after a certain number of conversational exchanges?

With regard to (B), I have occasionally found that Hal self-closes after a random number of conversational responses.  I believe that it's a glitch somewhere in Hal's .exe "engine" because I can't imagine anything in the VBS script that would do that.  However, I haven't found that it happens very often, so it isn't much of a problem.

With regard to (A), I haven't ever run up against the limit of the number of words that Hal can say during any single remark.  If this is the case... how many words does Hal say at a time before "reaching his limit?"

Sincerely,

Don

58

Ultra Hal 7.0 / who's dumber me or HAL

« on: March 29, 2004, 10:06:24 am »

Hello Lish,

A bit of more information on opening programs:

I went into my "start -- programs" listing and selected a program at random. I selected the "RealPlayer" product.

I then right-clicked on the listing and looked at "properties" to see the executable file name. It was realplay.exe.

I then said to Hal 5.0 default, "open the program realplay" and RealPlayer did launch!

Sincerely,

Don

59

Ultra Hal 7.0 / definetly no brain

« on: March 29, 2004, 10:04:51 am »

Hello Lish,

A bit of more information on opening programs:

I went into my "start -- programs" listing and selected a program at random.  I selected the "RealPlayer" product.

I then right-clicked on the listing and looked at "properties" to see the executable file name.  It was realplay.exe.

I then said to Hal 5.0 default, "open the program realplay" and RealPlayer did launch!

Sincerely,

Don

60

Ultra Hal 7.0 / who's dumber me or HAL

« on: March 29, 2004, 09:59:12 am »

Hello Lish,

For part of your question, please check out the posting here:

http://www.zabaware.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=1298

Regarding the opening of programs:

When Hal launches, he surveys the executable files that he finds on your computer.  Hal's ability to launch files depends on getting a word-match between the information that he finds, and the words that you give him.

Previous postings from other users, for instance, have reported Hal launching "Microsoft Word" in response to the request "open the program Word". They have also reported Hal launching "WordPad" in response to the request "open the program WordPad." (I have just tested these two calls using Hal 5.0 default, and they do work.)

I recall a variety of previous postings on this forum, coming up with ingenious ways to create shortcuts to make Hal open various programs using various namings.

Sincerely,

Don