Virtual assistants for and conversations with non-human entities

Abstract

Aspects of the subject disclosure may include, for example virtual assistants that allow communications with non-human entities. A virtual assistant associated with a non-human entity may communicate directly with a human user or may communicate with a second virtual assistant associated with the user. Example non-human entities include animals, toys, and connected devices. Other embodiments are disclosed.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A device, comprising:
 a processing system including a processor; and   a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processing system, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:   receiving, at a first virtual assistant that operates a first user interface device attached to an animal, an information request originating from a call command for the first virtual assistant being recognized by a second virtual assistant at a second user interface device remote from the first user interface device;   responsive to the information request, detecting an event of interest associated with the animal; and   communicating a message regarding the event of interest by generating an audible voice signal representing the animal from the first user interface device attached to the animal.   
     
     
         2 . The device of  claim 1 , the operations further comprising:
 receiving a sensor reading generated by a sensor attached to the animal; and   recording the sensor reading and a timestamp in an entity event log.   
     
     
         3 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the sensor comprises a timer. 
     
     
         4 . The device of  claim 2 , wherein the sensor comprises an environmental sensor. 
     
     
         5 . The device of  claim 2 , the operations further comprising detecting that the sensor reading exceeds a threshold. 
     
     
         6 . The device of  claim 1 , wherein the first user interface device comprises a collar on the animal. 
     
     
         7 . The device of  claim 6 , wherein the collar includes a location sensor. 
     
     
         8 . The device of  claim 7 , wherein the location sensor comprises a global positioning sensor (GPS) radio. 
     
     
         9 . A non-transitory machine-readable medium, comprising executable instructions that, when executed by a processing system including a processor, facilitate performance of operations, the operations comprising:
 receiving, at a first virtual assistant that operates a first user interface device attached to an animal, an information request originating from a call command for the first virtual assistant being recognized by a second virtual assistant at a second user interface device remote from the first user interface device;   responsive to the information request, detecting an event of interest associated with the animal, wherein the detecting the event of interest includes receiving a sensor reading generated by a sensor attached to the animal; and   communicating a message regarding the event of interest by generating an audible voice signal representing the animal from the first user interface device attached to the animal.   
     
     
         10 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , the operations further comprising recording the sensor reading and a timestamp in an entity event log. 
     
     
         11 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor comprises a timer. 
     
     
         12 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the sensor comprises an environmental sensor. 
     
     
         13 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , the operations further comprising detecting that the sensor reading exceeds a threshold. 
     
     
         14 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 9 , wherein the first user interface device comprises a collar on the animal. 
     
     
         15 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 14 , wherein the collar includes a location sensor. 
     
     
         16 . The non-transitory machine-readable medium of  claim 15 , wherein the location sensor comprises a global positioning sensor (GPS) radio. 
     
     
         17 . A method, comprising:
 receiving, by a processing system including a processor, at a first virtual assistant that operates a first user interface device attached to an animal, an information request originating from a call command for the first virtual assistant being recognized by a second virtual assistant at a second user interface device remote from the first user interface device;   responsive to the information request, detecting, by the processing system, an event of interest associated with the animal; and   communicating, by the processing system, a message regarding the event of interest by generating an audible voice signal representing the animal from the first user interface device attached to the animal.   
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 17 , further comprising:
 receiving, by the processing system, a sensor reading generated by a sensor attached to the animal; and   recording, by the processing system, the sensor reading and a timestamp in an entity event log.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the sensor comprises a timer. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the sensor comprises an environmental sensor.