Interface idea: Lady NAIRN

[jayaddison]

Is your feature request related to a problem? Please describe.
Although the progressive web application interface seems to be working reasonably well, it seems worth considering other possible accessible interfaces to the RecipeRadar search API in particular.

Describe the solution you'd like
There are two very similar interfaces that spring to mind and that could share a common implementation layer:

• Text-based conversation interface.
• Voice-based conversation interface.

Both the functionality of the traditional search-by-ingredients view and also the explore-by-ingredients view could be implemented in this conversational style, and it wouldn't require any artificial intelligence, although it could require internationalisation.

The idea would be to have a constrained grammar for the user -- names of ingredients, and positive/negative confirmations (yes/no, ...) -- and a set of informal but clearly-messaged responses possible from the service.

Text chat could be implemented over various messaging platforms, including SMS, and similarly so could voice chat (plain old telephone calls being one option -- implemented using an open source PBX, for example).

Regardless of text/voice mode, a hypothetical conversation transcript is provided below:

nairn> hello, this is the RecipeRadar search service - would you like to search recipes by ingredients, or to explore recipes based on the ingredients you like and dislike?
jay> I'd like to explore recipes today please
nairn> OK, great.  let's get started: do you like garlic?
jay> yes
nairn> thanks - we'll include garlic recipes.  what's your opinion on tomato?
jay> I like tomatoes
nairn> OK, tomatoes are good too.  would you like to explore recipes that use basil?
jay> not today thanks
nairn> alright.  I've found a few recipes that use garlic and tomato without basil -- would you like to hear about some of those, or filter by more ingredients?
jay> sure, what have you found?
nairn> the first result is called 'Tomato Curry Recipe' and uses your ingredients plus onion, green chili, curry leaves, and a bunch more ingredients.  does that interest you?
jay> yes, that sounds great.
nairn> excellent!  I'll send you a text message with the URL for the recipe.  would you like to start another recipe search?
jay> no, that's all for today thanks.
nairn> OK!  thanks for using RecipeRadar.  goodbye for now.

Each response sentence should generally have 5-10 natural language variants, to keep the feel of the conversation informal. And the engine should attempt not to re-use the same template variant within a single session (although sometimes this could be challenging for lengthy recipe search sessions).

Describe alternatives you've considered
N/A

Additional context
A suggested name for the conversational partner would be Lady or Lord NAIRN (No Artificial Intelligence Right Now).