Publication Date

2010-01-01

Availability

Open access

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Computer Science (Arts and Sciences)

Date of Defense

2010-06-11

First Committee Member

Dr. Geoff Sutcliffe - Committee Chair

Second Committee Member

Dr. Brad Cokelet - Committee Member

Third Committee Member

Dr. Ubbo Visser - Committee Member

Abstract

Search engines are the most popular tools for finding answers to questions, but unfortunately they do not always provide complete direct answers. Answers often need to be extracted by the user, from the web pages returned by the search engine. This research addresses this problem, and shows how an automated theorem prover, combined with existing ontologies and the web, is able to reason about world knowledge and return direct answers to users' questions. The use of an automated theorem prover also allows more complex questions to be asked. Automated theorem provers that exhibit these capabilities are called World Knowledge Reasoning systems. This research discusses one such system, the CNL-WKR system. The CNL-WKR system uses the ACE controlled natural language as its user-input language. It then calls upon external sources on the web, as well as internal ontological sources, during the theorem proving process, in order to find answers. The system uses the automated theorem prover, SPASS-XDB. The result is a system that is capable of answering complex questions about the world.

Keywords

Answer Engine; Automated Reasoning; Query System

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