LogiMOO: an extensible multi-user virtual world with natural language control

LogiMOO is a BinProlog-based Virtual World running under Netscape and Inter net Explorer for distributed group-work over the INTERNET and user-crafted virtual places, virtual objects and agents. LogiMOO is implemented on top o f a multi-threaded blackboard-based logic programming system (BinProlog) fe aturing Linda-style coordination. Remote and local blackboards support tran sparent distribution of data and processing over TCP/IP links, while thread s ensure high-performance local client-server dynamics. Embedding in Netsca pe provides advanced VRML and HTML frame-based navigation and multi-media s upport, while LogiMOO handles virtual presence and acts as a very high-leve l multi-media object broker, User-friendliness is achieved through a contro lled English interface written in terms of Assumption Grammars. Its languag e coverage is extensible in that the user can incorporate new nouns, verbs and adjectives as needed by changes in the world. Immediate evaluation of w orld knowledge by the parser yields representations which minimize the unkn owns allowing us to deal with advanced Natural Language constructs like ana phora and relativization efficiently. We take advantage of the simplicity o f our controlled language to provide as well an easy adaptation to other na tural languages than English, with English-like representations as a univer sal interlingua. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.