Thematic Session: Natural Language Technology in Mobile Information Retrieval and Text Processing User Interfaces

Abstract

One of the strongest impacts in recent information technology is the way mobility has changed computer applications. The rapid rate of handphone adoption, the ubiquitous PDA, and the low cost of wireless adoption has created new problems, new challenges, and new opportunities to researchers in many disciplines. One common thread through all these applications is the necessity for information retrieval and mobile text processing in one form or another. Another characteristic is the limited size of mobile devices and the consequent need for sophisticated methods of text input and output. Other applications with a similar need of language technology support under challenging conditions include e.g. communication aids and authoring tools.

The use of NLP plays an integral part in creating better user interfaces, more efficient text input technologies, authoring aids, summarization and analysis of output for precise display, and greater understanding in the interactive dialogue between user and applications working on text. We invited researchers focusing on

• text input and output technologies,

• language modeling,

• summarization,

• mobile database, information retrieval and management,

• speech and dialogue IR applications on mobile devices,

and HCI researchers on text retrieval and processing systems to explore user oriented and theoretical limits and characteristics of NLP for front-end and back-end solutions within the context of text retrieval and processing user interfaces.