New Feature: Google Assistant Action based on Hoverboard database

[mpoehler]

The idea is that we place Google Homes in quiet corners and people can ask things like “What’s next?“, “When is lunch?” and so on. The answers are created with data from the firebase database of project hoverboard.

In Hamburg, Germany we start to develop an Google Assistant Action for the DevFest 2017 and we are already in touch with Google Developer Advocates.

[ozasadnyy]

@mpoehler sound very interesting! Do you have any working examples to show?

[mpoehler]

@ozasadnyy not now, but I keep you posted!

Currently we try to clarify if its possible to create one "DevFest" Action that selects the DevFest depending on its physical location.

We should be able to read the session data from the firebase without the need to authenticate (https://github.com/gdg-x/hoverboard/blob/master/database.rules.json ) - the Action should work without Account-Linking.

If we have the information like lat/long/firebase-database-url - maybe as part of this project - the "DevFest"-Action should be able to answer questions for all registered DevFests. Just drop a few GoogleHomes at the DevFest and you are ready to go.

[abraham]

Typically Google only approves Actions that have a two word name. Maybe they would make an exception for DevFest. Otherwise maybe "Dev Fest" would work or each DevFest can publish their own app under "DevFest Name".

The location permission is part of the user information permission. This means that each DevFest would need to create a Google account to associate with each Home and make sure voice pattern matching is disabled. Each invocation of the Action would prompt for location permission as the user has to authorize it each session. (That's an argument for each DevFest having their own published action).

Finally each DevFest site would need a version of the site with a consistent schedule API and a centralized API organizers would have to register their DevFest and their location details with.

One option would be to have a "DevFest Schedule" Action that you ask for specific event details. "Ok Google, ask DevFest Schedule for the next Ukraine session"

It's certainly possible but I think a large amount of work.

[abraham]

@aygul built a related Action for finding DevFest CFPs.

https://assistant.google.com/services/a/uid/000000024f436d9a

[ozasadnyy]

@aygul would you like to build actions for DevFest attendees to get the information about the schedule (and selected sessions), speakers and other important information?

[aygul]

@ozasadnyy @abraham The Action on Google for individual DevFests is work in progress. It'll be shared very soon, so stay tuned 👍