The idea that our digital personal assistants are only starting to touch their true capabilities is not a new thought. Many have seen the potential of Cortana, Siri, and Google Now, long before the features will make their way to the market.

When you start to bridge the gap between the next generation of devices that will be connected to the Internet (often referred to as the Internet of Things), the power of the digital assistant becomes apparent. Knowing this, Onion.io has tapped into the power of Cortana (thanks to its ability to be accessed by third-party apps) and has been programmed to communicate with a lamp and a printer.

The video demo is basic but it shows that Cortana has serious potential to do more than simply set an alarm or create a calendar invite.

While we may not be able to control our homes and other traditionally non-connected devices yet, we can see the time window from when it was just an idea to actual implementation, quickly shrinking.

Lamps and printers in a closed environment are only the start and we suspect it wont be long until you can purchase adapters to connect ordinary devices into Internet platforms. With any new technology, the barrier to entry is typically high, but as products hit mass market, the price drops and these lab demos quickly become a reality.

Source: YouTube