The digital age has simplified our lives in myriad ways, acting as the guiding hand in everything from daily chores to complex business operations. Yet, our seemingly unending reliance on these digital tools also brings with it some challenging situations. One such conundrum is the ever-increasing complexity of communication between different digital robots, commonly known as bots.
Bots are essentially computer programs designed to carry out tasks automatically but for them to interact seamlessly with multiple channels, they have to be specially programmed for each one. Now, imagine a large enterprise that relies on numerous bots to carry out diverse tasks. Every time a new bot-communication channel is introduced, it triggers a cascading effect of manually reprogramming and redeploying every single bot to accommodate changes in chat protocol - a time-consuming, labor-intensive process fraught with difficulties and inefficiencies.
This seemingly intractable problem is being tackled by a recently patented invention by Oracle International under the patent number US11743211B2. This particular patent concerns itself with a system that acts almost like an interpreter for bots, simplifying their interactions with each other. What's striking is that it doesn't need any information about the specific communication channel a bot will interact with, it adapts accordingly every single time, quite remarkably.
The system it has devised works in two steps: it first identifies the available bot-based communication channels in a system and in its following step, converts messages in a language that the targeted bot can comprehend. Think of it as a universal translator for bots, breaking down walls of complicated chat-protocols ensuring smooth bot conversations.
When introduced commercially, it has the potential to revolutionize workplaces, especially those relying heavily on bots for their operations. Just to give you a context, a company with multiple bots will not need to worry about the additional effort and time to manually reprogram each one when adding a new chat channel to their operations. Every single bot will automatically discover the new channel and adapt its communication accordingly - right out of the box!
Employees, whose time and skills were earlier devoted to cater to these technical nitty-gritty, will now be free to focus on more crucial aspects of their jobs. Simply put, workplaces will see an overall increase in productivity and efficiency.
Imagine going to a coffee shop and ordering your favorite drink through a bot on your coffee shop's mobile app without worrying about any communication issues or errors, all thanks to the seamless interaction facilitated by this new technology.
A point to remember here is that as promising as this technology sounds, what we're discussing is a patent and it's not uncommon for patented technologies to not see the light of the day. Nevertheless, if realized, it has the potential to make our digital lives significantly easier.
P.S. A patent is essentially a document that gives an inventor the right to stop others from making, using, or selling an invention for a certain number of years. Even though Oracle International has patented this technology, it doesn't guarantee that it will be available for commercial use anytime soon. Patents are essentially a first step, a declaration of an innovative idea that might, or might not, translate into a tangible product or service in the future.