Digital assistant utilization in a virtual environment

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12047453-B2
Application number	US-201916587325-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 30, 2019
Priority date	Sep 30, 2019
Publication date	Jul 23, 2024
Grant date	Jul 23, 2024

Abstract

One embodiment provides a method, including: detecting, while in a virtual environment effectuated by a virtual reality device, an activation command to activate a digital assistant embodied on a disparate digital assistant device; establishing a connection with the disparate digital assistant device; receiving, subsequent to the establishing and at the virtual reality device, a user command directed toward the digital assistant; and performing, using the digital assistant while in the virtual environment, an action corresponding to the user command. Other aspects are described and claimed.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method, comprising:
detecting, while in a virtual reality environment effectuated by a virtual reality device, an activation command from a user to activate a digital assistant embodied on a digital assistant device of another user;
establishing a connection with the digital assistant device of the another user;
producing, subsequent to having established the connection, a manifestation of the digital assistant of the another user in the virtual reality environment of the digital assistant device of the user;
identifying, subsequent to the producing, a user command from the user directed toward the manifestation of the digital assistant to perform a real world action upon the digital assistant of the another user;
assigning, responsive to the identifying, one or more steps of the real world action to the digital assistant in a virtual space and to the digital assistant device of the another user in the virtual space determining a security risk level of the user command, that came from the user to the digital assistant device of the another user, identified based upon at least one allowance established on the digital assistant device of the another user and based on the user and the another user in the virtual space, wherein the security risk is associated with the user command; and
transmitting based upon the security risk level, using the virtual reality device of the another user and responsive to receiving the user command from the user in the virtual space, an indication of the user command of the user to the digital assistant of the another user to perform the real world action, wherein performance of the real world action affects real world aspects unrelated to virtual content presented in the virtual reality environment.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the command is a command selected from the group consisting of a voice command, a gesture command, a selection command, and a keyboard command.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the digital assistant is not co-located with the virtual reality device.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the establishing comprises establishing the connection using a cloud service.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the performing comprises performing the action in the virtual reality environment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the receiving comprises receiving the user command from the another user having a shared presence in the virtual reality environment.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
identifying another digital assistant associated with another user having a presence in the virtual reality environment;
wherein the performing comprises performing the action utilizing both of: the another digital assistant and the digital assistant.

8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising manifesting an embodiment of the digital assistant in the virtual reality environment.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising maintaining the connection with the digital assistant until a dismiss command is detected.

10. An information handling device, comprising:
a processor;
a memory device that stores instructions executable by the processor to:
detect, while in a virtual reality environment effectuated by the information handling device, an activation command from a user to activate a digital assistant embodied on a digital assistant device of another user;
establish a connection with the digital assistant device of the another user;
produce, subsequent to having established the connection, a manifestation of the digital assistant of the another user in the virtual reality environment of the digital assistant device of the user;
identify, subsequent to the producing, a user command from the user directed toward the manifestation of the digital assistant to perform a real world action upon the digital assistant of the another user;
assigning, responsive to the identifying, one or more steps of the real world action to the digital assistant in a virtual space and to the digital assistant device of the another user in the virtual space;
determining a security risk level of the user command, that came from the user to the digital assistant device of the another user, identified based upon at least one allowance established on the digital assistant device of the another user and based on the user and the another user in the virtual space, wherein the security risk is associated with the user command; and
transmit based upon the security risk level, using the information handling device of the another user and responsive to receiving the user command from the another user in the virtual space, an indication of the user command of the user to the digital assistant of the another user to perform the real world action, wherein performance of the real world action affects real world aspects unrelated to virtual content presented in the virtual reality environment.

11. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the command is a command selected from the group consisting of a voice command, a gesture command, a selection command, and a keyboard command.

12. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the digital assistant is not co-located with the virtual reality device.

13. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions executable by the processor to establish comprise instructions executable by the processor to establish the connection using a cloud service.

14. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions executable by the processor to perform comprise instructions executable by the processor to perform the action in the virtual reality environment.

15. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions executable by the processor to receive comprise instructions executable by the processor to receive the user command from the another user having a shared presence in the virtual reality environment.

16. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to:
identify another digital assistant associated with another user having a presence in the virtual reality environment;
wherein the instructions executable by the processor to perform the action comprise instructions executable by the processor to perform the action utilizing both of: the another digital assistant and the digital assistant.

17. The information handling device of claim 10 , wherein the instructions are further executable by the processor to manifest an embodiment of the digital assistant in the virtual reality environment.

18. A product, comprising: a storage device that stores code, the code being executable by a processor and comprising:
code that detects, while in a virtual reality environment, an activation command from a user to activate a digital assistant embodied on a digital assistant device of another user;
code that establishes a connection with the digital assistant device of the another user;
code that produces, subsequent to having established the connection, a manifestation of the digital assistant of the another user in the virtual reality environment of the digital assistant device of the user;
code that identifies, subsequent to the producing, a user command from the user directed toward the manifestation of the digital assistant to perform a real world action upon the digital assistant of the another user;
assigning, responsive to the identifying, one or more steps of the real world action to the digital assistant in a virtual space and to

Assignees

• Lenovo Singapore Pte Ltd

Inventors

• Kapinos Robert James
• Kingsbury Timothy Winthrop
• Vanblon Russell Speight
• Li Scott Wentao

Classifications

• G06F3/011 Primary

  Arrangements for interaction with the human body, e.g. for user immersion in virtual reality (blind teaching G09B21/00) · CPC title

• H04L67/131

  Protocols for games, networked simulations or virtual reality · CPC title

• H04L67/125 Primary

  involving control of end-device applications over a network · CPC title