The "Ambient Assisted Living" program supports the vAssist project for the European community. The portable devices (smartphones) are the keys to integrate open-source systems of Voice/Video over IP and Automatic Speech Recognition in order to produce a centralised and interactive virtual assistant for daily activities. The assistant in this behavior is here called "the Butler" and provides personalised health care and security, being able to handle the detection of distress expressions and vocal commands. The target population are handicaps and elderly people living alone at home.