Teal Bot is now Live and Available to the Public – Try it for yourself!
We are super excited to announce that after lots of hard work Teal Bot is live and available to the public! Teal Bot enables everyone to use climate data in a personalized way, regardless of prior experience or knowledge.
Chatbot technology was initially introduced to simulate conversations with a user using voice or text interactions. Chatbots are used in dialog systems for various purposes including customer service, request routing, or information gathering. TealBot developed as a web assistant. It has the ability to answer questions from user to provide a clear and up to date view of the current state of scientific knowledge relevant to climate change and weather in different regions of the world.
We asked WEMC Data Engineer Mas to tell us more about Teal Bot and its development. Firstly, why is it important to have a bot integrated with Teal?
A: In recent years, chatbots have been used in a variety of fields, such as marketing, support systems, education, healthcare, cultural heritage, and entertainment. We did our research and surveyed a large number of sites related to climate change, and none had chatbots. Even sites that did only introduced services and searched the site, and did not have the ability to extract information or interact with data. We decided to change this, and now general public researchers, students interested in climate change and technicians of companies who are looking for a tool that facilitates their climate and energy analysis can get information from the TealBot.
What can be learnt from Teal Bot?
A: Since Teal Bot visualizes data based on conversational stories, users can easily check and compare the visualized data and download it. Key information can be extrapolated globally on temperature, precipitation, extreme events, climatology, country comparison, and more.
What challenges did you face during development?
A: Of course there can be challenges when AI chatbots are developed and implemented and so we worked hard to reduce the likelihood of encountering any. For example, it’s essential to ensure that the chatbot is secure and that hackers are unable to access data and conversations.
Another conundrum with AI-enabled chatbots is that they can be prone to making errors, which can make the user experience less effective. Both the technical and communications teams at WEMC have been working hard on scripts and the conversations that Teal Bot will have so that the final product is fit for purpose.
The scientific community has noted that chatbots are accessible features for many. The development of AI and new thinking about user experience will continue to change the way that organisations provide useful services, especially in the field of climate and weather services where this use of technology is just starting.
The goal of Teal Bot was to develop a chat bot that will guide users in having smooth interactions with climate data. We’d love you to check out Teal Bot for yourself and follow our social media accounts to keep updated and learn how Teal can benefit your understanding and awareness of climate change and to get the latest updates.
This work has been done under the EU H2020 FOCUS-Africa project.
Share your Teal discoveries with us via Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn. We are keen to hear how you use Teal as a resource within your specific sector!
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