Groove-X: The Party Dance Advisor Presented by: Edgar J. Terrero 6.871 Knowledge-Based Applications Systems Thursday, May 12, 2005 Prof. Randall DavisTerrero Groove-X: The Party Dance Advisor ABSTRACT This paper presents Groove-X, a knowledge-based expert system that helps its user decide whether to dance with a girl at a party, and if so how to manipulate his dance moves such that he gets to dance with her the way he wants to without making her uncomfortable. In particular, this paper discusses four aspects of the system: the task it performs, the problem-solving paradigm involved, the knowledge contained in the system, and the lessons we learned from designing and building the system. Moreover, this paper briefly points the reader in the direction for future work on the system. Introduction Knowledge-based expert systems have seen very successful consulting applications in several fields, including medicine, can selection to contain food, mineral deposit finding, and even law [1,2,3,4]. Now, consider the situation in which you are a young, single man, walking into a party featuring urban music. You came to have a good time by dancing some songs with an attractive woman. Now this attractive woman is consistently looking in your direction. Several questions arise: “Should I approach her? Am I handsome enough and dressed well enough to make a good impression on her? What will her friends say or do?” Humans are very indecisive, and these can turn from simple questions into headaches very quickly. Groove-X is a knowledge-based expert system designed to help you make that decision. Combining several factors, including how you are dressed, the party settings, and the girl’s attitude, Groove-X tells you how to interact with the girl: by dancing with her, by speaking to her before dancing, or by ignoring her and trying to find another girl. The System Task Definition of the Task The general task of the system consists of two parts. First, given a set of factors regarding the user's appearance and behavior, the party setting, and the girl's mood and location at the time, the program will advise the user on whether he should dance with the girl, just talk to her before dancing, or just ignore her and try another girl. Second, should the system advice the user to dance with the girl, it will ask about his current dancing position and will advice him on how to manipulate dance moves such that he dances with her the way he wants to, without offending her. A specific example will shed more light on the task of the system. Consider John, who happens to go to a fraternity party with some friends. John is dressed well; that is, he is wearing a fitted baseball cap that matches his shirt and sneakers in color. His shirt is also of a popular brand of urban clothing (Rocawear) which happens to match the brand of his jeans. His clothes are clean and ironed, and he has showered and worn cologne, which adds to his attractiveness. Moreover, he is going with a few friends who all happened to be well dressed, which adds to his confidence. Once they arrive at the party, it is the beginning of the party and the lighting is dim. Loud music is playing, and people are just standing while drinking alcohol. He spots the girl he wants to dance with, and they make eye contact; moreover, her friends are not around. She is close to the wall, and there are not that many people around her. For these settings, the system strongly (0.65777) suggests that he should approach the girl and start a conversation with her. The example below illustrates an actual instance of a user interacting with the system (bold font signifies the author's comments): Sample Problem 2Terrero Groove-X: The Party Dance Advisor (ask [dance-with-girl edgar ?x] #'print-answer-with-certainty) {This is the highest-level goal} Is it the case that EDGAR wants to dance without talking to the girl: No {The system will not advice talking if the user does not want to} Is it the case that the girl is drinking: Yes What is the party’s lighting level: Dim {Some physical traits are not noticeable depending on lighting} What is EDGAR's hair condition (in terms of how clean it is): I-Dont-Know {The user can answer “I don’t know,” in which case the program will figure out the answer by asking more detailed questions} Is it the case that EDGAR has dandruff in his hair: No Is it the case that EDGAR has a hair shapeup: Yes Is it the case that EDGAR has braids: No {Physical appearance is important, since it affects how the girl thinks about the user} Is it the case that EDGAR is clean shaved: Yes Is it the case that EDGAR has a shaped-up mustache: Yes What is EDGAR's acne status: Absent Is it the case that EDGAR's teeth are yellow: No Is it the case that EDGAR's teeth are clean: Yes Is it the case that EDGAR's teeth are missing: No Is it the case that EDGAR's teeth are straight: Yes What is EDGAR's shirt look like (that is, how good it looks): Fresh What is EDGAR pants look like (in terms of how clean they are): Fresh What is EDGAR's pants type: Jeans What is EDGAR's shoes brand: Nike What is EDGAR's shirt match (has a similar color to): Shoes Is it the case that EDGAR is wearing a dress shirt: No What is EDGAR's shirt brand name: Rocawear Is it the case that EDGAR’s pants brand matches his shirt brand: Yes What is EDGAR's shoes crisp (stylish) status: 3Terrero Groove-X: The Party Dance Advisor We are trying to determine whether EDGAR's shoes crisp (stylish) status is FRESH This is being asked for by the rule SHOE-CRISP-USER-INPUT in order to determine: whether EDGAR is wearing crisp (stylish) shoes You are being asked to enter one of Fresh, Unkempt, or I-Dont-Know. The possible completions are: Fresh Unkempt I-Dont-Know {This is just Joshua’s “WHY” explanation mechanism} Fresh What is EDGAR's amount of friends: Few Is it the case that EDGAR’s friends are crisp (stylish): Yes Is it the case that EDGAR has washed: Yes {Hygiene is equally as important as physical appearance} Is it the case that EDGAR is wearing cologne: Yes Is it the case that EDGAR’s breath smells : No What is EDGAR's dance experience: Expert {A good dancer will make a good impression on the girl} Is it the case that EDGAR is dancing at the moment: Yes Is it the case that EDGAR is approaching the girl right now: No Is it the case that EDGAR started a