Research Strengths - UMNL
The User Modeling and Natural Language Group (UMNL) focuses on the application
of Statistical and Machine Learning techniques to human-computer interaction.
User modeling consists of inferring and representing the beliefs, preferences,
skills or objectives of users interacting with a computer system. A user model
enables a system to adapt its behaviour to the needs and requirements of a user.
User models have been used in several applications, such as Intelligent Tutoring
Systems (as student models), on-line help systems, and information filtering systems.
Natural language processing consists of understanding and generating
natural language discourse. Examples of applications of Natural language
processing techniques are understanding user queries, explanation
generation , and document summarization.
The UMNL group conducts research in these areas, leveraging on the
strengths of the School of Computer Science and Software Engineering
(CSSE) to apply statistical techniques and machine learning techniques
to problems in user modeling and natural language processing. The group is
interested in collaborating with business and government to solve practical
problems in these areas.