Abstract

Semantic Assistants Workflow OverviewToday's knowledge workers have to spend a large amount of time and manual effort on creating, analyzing, and modifying textual content. While more advanced semantically-oriented analysis techniques have been developed in recent years, they have not yet found their way into commonly used desktop clients, be they generic (e.g., word processors, email clients) or domain-specific (e.g., software IDEs, biological tools). Instead of forcing the user to leave his current context and use an external application, we propose a ``Semantic Assistants'' approach, where semantic analysis services relevant for the user's current task are offered directly within a desktop application. Our approach relies on an OWL ontology model for context and service information and integrates external natural language processing (NLP) pipelines through W3C Web services.

Abstract

We analyse the requirements for an advanced semantic support of users—building historians and architects—of a multi-volume encyclopedia of architecture from the late 19th century. Novel requirements include the integration of content retrieval, content development, and automated content analysis based on natural language processing.

We present a system architecture for the detected requirements and its current implementation. A complex scenario demonstrates how a desktop supporting semantic analysis can contribute to specific, relevant user tasks.