Flexible Dialogue Control for Intuitive Spatial Communication: Doll Dialogue Data, 2007-2007

Tenbrink, Thora and Coventry, Kenny and Andonova, Elena (2023). Flexible Dialogue Control for Intuitive Spatial Communication: Doll Dialogue Data, 2007-2007. [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. 10.5255/UKDA-SN-856638

The project's aim was to develop natural and effective dialogue/interaction between agents (dialogue systems, artificial agents and human users) while considering all levels of linguistic, contextual and conceptual description in spatial settings.

Data description (abstract)

This data collection addresses the impact of dialogue strategies and functional features of spatial arrangements on communicative success. To examine the sharing of cognition between two minds in order to achieve a joint goal, we collected a corpus of 24 extended German-language dialogues in a referential communication task that involved furnishing a dolls’ house. Results show how successful communication, as evidenced by correct placement of furniture items, is affected by: (a) functionality of the furniture arrangement; (b) previous task experience; and (c) dialogue features such as description length and orientation information. This downloadable dialogue corpus allows these issues to be addressed, designed with the following core features that together set it apart from previous data: a. Naturalistic action related dialogue. Two ‘naïve’ speakers (no confederate) are confronted with a task involving action, to be solved based on verbal interaction. b. Asymmetric knowledge. Each dialogue involves a ‘director’ and a ‘matcher’. The ‘director’ knows about the specific task goals (here: the target configuration), and informs the ‘matcher’ accordingly. c. Everyday spatial concepts in a multi-object arrangement context. The task involves placing dolls’ house furniture in a target arrangement, similar to a range of common tasks in everyday life through evoking relevant action scripts and schemata that guide expectations about object location. d. Experimental variation. Furniture arrangements differ with respect to the functional relationship between objects and therefore in their congruence with context frames, and hence common ground (prior to communication). e. Operationalized success. Correct object placement informs about communicative success. f. Task experience. After swapping roles, dialogue partners can build on previous task experience. This resource includes transcripts (total: 126,846 words) and pictures showing the furnished dolls’ houses, allowing to evaluate task success.

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