Operating System Services for Managing Context

Simple approaches to context can improve performance of existing applications and operating systems, especially when providing lightweight interpreters for user inputs such as speech and vision. A central service for internal computer contexts and external user contexts can also provide a means for improved resource management. User behavior analysis and command properties (such as safety, reversibility, and cost) can produce sophisticated contexts which can enable safer and more accurate interpretation of human-computer communication. Our “Baby Steps” system is a set of operating system services and a framework for providing basic dialogue management. We hope that it will provide a foundation for interfacing more versatile dialogue and resource management systems with conventional applications and operating systems.