US 11,710,080 B2
Gathering data in a communication system
Cheng Zhang, Cambridge (GB); Reinhard Sebastian Bernhard Nowozin, Cambridge (GB); Ameera Patel, Cambridge (GB); Danielle Charlotte Mary Belgrave, Cambridge (GB); Konstantina Palla, London (GB); Anja Thieme, Cambridge (GB); Iain Edward Buchan, Cambridge (GB); Chao Ma, Cambridge (GB); Sebastian Tschiatschek, Cambridge (GB); and Jose Miguel Hernandez Lobato, Cambridge (GB)
Assigned to Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed by Microsoft Technology Licensing, LLC, Redmond, WA (US)
Filed on Jun. 17, 2019, as Appl. No. 16/443,734.
Claims priority of application No. 1815743 (GB), filed on Sep. 27, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0105381 A1, Apr. 2, 2020
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06N 20/20 (2019.01); G16H 10/20 (2018.01); G06N 3/08 (2023.01); G06F 16/9032 (2019.01); G06F 17/18 (2006.01); G06N 20/10 (2019.01); G06N 20/00 (2019.01); G06N 3/045 (2023.01)
CPC G06N 20/20 (2019.01) [G06F 16/90332 (2019.01); G06F 17/18 (2013.01); G06N 3/045 (2023.01); G06N 3/08 (2013.01); G06N 20/00 (2019.01); G06N 20/10 (2019.01); G16H 10/20 (2018.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. Computing apparatus comprising a processor and storage storing code arranged to run on the processor, wherein the code is configured so as when run to perform operations of:
outputting questions to a user via a user device, and receiving back responses to some of the questions from the user via the user device;
over time, controlling the outputting of the questions so as to output the questions with a different value associated with each item of a plurality of items of metadata, wherein the plurality of items of metadata comprise at least one of a time or a location at which a question was output to the user via the user device;
determining a probability distribution of an unanswered question of the questions; and
training a machine learning algorithm to learn a value of each of the items of metadata which optimizes a reward function based on the determined probability distribution, and based thereon selecting at least one of a time or location at which to output a subsequent question, wherein the reward function comprises a distance between the probability distribution of the unanswered question and a probability distribution based on an answered question of the questions.