Inspiration
We wanted to make a smarter and more convenient way to gather useful information from FAQ pages. We also wanted to learn more about “chat boxes” and voice response with Alexa.
What it does
Provides users information from VCU FAQs website through Alexa UI.
How I built it
We use Amazon Alexa as conversational UI. We used IBM Watson keywords extraction API to extract keywords from FAQ pages and user question. We also implemented a keyword matching algorithm and RESTfull API using Node.js. Our data and server code are deployed to Gooogle App engine.
Challenges I ran into
Alexa Skills, integrating Alexa with IBM Watson API, the right questions to ask Alexa and how to generalize them, getting AWS figured out, and using a valid Amazon account for AWS.
Accomplishments that I'm proud of
We were capable of doing it in one night! Our keyword matching algorithm that works uses Watson keywords extraction API.
What I learned
Resource allocation in teamwork, Alexa Skills, IBM Watson, and how very much a conditional statement is helpful in designing bots.
What's next for FAQHelper
Expanding outward to other FAQs, and perhaps tools for making FAQs easier to pull with chatbots like Alexa.
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