Difference between revisions of "Microsoft Cortana"

Revision as of 11:49, 3 March 2016

Cortana is an intelligent personal assistant developed by Microsoft Corporation.^[1] It was introduced with the Windows 8.1 operating system and is available across Microsoft devices with Windows 8.1 mobile and Windows 10.^[2][3] It is also available for Android and iOS operating systems, although with some limitations.^[4]

Cortana was in development since 2009.^[5] It was officially introduced during the Microsoft Build 2014 developer conference as a new feature for the Windows Mobile 8.1 operating system.^[6][7]

Main characteristics

A user can be manually invoked Cortana by tapping the search button in the Windows Start menu or on their mobile device. Cortana can also automatically respond to the command "Hey, Cortana" if enabled. Before the user can start using the service, Cortana will ask them to provide some personal information in order to personalize the future search results.^[8] After asking Cortana a question, the query is translated into text and send to the Microsoft Bing search engine to process. Afterwards, Cortana will voice the most likely result back to the user.^[9] Cortana is connected through other Microsoft services such as OneDrive, Outlook, or Edge. It is able to search user's contacts, set appointments, write and notify of messages, display latest news, and pro-actively update the user.^[10][11] An integral part of Cortana is the Notebook feature. The Notebook is a unified place where the user can view and edit information Cortana aggregates about them which are then used to personalize search.^[12] The Cortana development team based this feature on how human assistants do their work.^[5] This was a deliberate decision from the very beginning of Cortana's development as the team tried to create a virtual persona that would not make the user feel like it was stalking them.^[13]

Historical overview

The development on Cortana begins in 2009. The project was the originally called Conversational-Understanding Personal-Assistant that was born in an effort to unify relevant Microsoft Research personnel into a project that would develop virtual assistant technology.

^[5]

http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/cortana-041614.aspx

Purpose

Company & People

Important Dates

Enhancement/Therapy/Treatment

Ethical & Health Issues

Public & Media Impact and Presentation

Public Policy

Related Technologies, Projects or Scientific Research

References

1. ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mobile/experiences/cortana/
2. ↑ http://www.zdnet.com/article/microsofts-cortana-alternative-to-siri-makes-a-video-debut/
3. ↑ http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2813649/Microsoft-launches-wearable-fitness-device-199.html
4. ↑ http://www.cnet.com/news/microsoft-to-expand-cortana-voice-assistant-to-ios-and-android/
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1 5.2} http://research.microsoft.com/en-us/news/features/cortana-041614.aspx
6. ↑ https://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2014/KEY01
7. ↑ http://www.computerworld.com/article/2489392/windows-phone-os/windows-phone-8-1-confirmed--with-cortana-digital-assistant.html
8. ↑ http://www.windowsphone.com/en-us/how-to/wp8/cortana/start-using-cortana
9. ↑ https://blogs.windows.com/windowsexperience/2015/02/10/how-cortana-comes-to-life-in-windows-10/
10. ↑ https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/Cortana
11. ↑ http://www.pocket-lint.com/news/134730-cortana-in-windows-10-here-s-how-it-works-and-why-it-could-change-pcs-forever
12. ↑ http://www.laptopmag.com/articles/cortana-top-features
13. ↑ http://www.theverge.com/2014/4/2/5570866/cortana-windows-phone-8-1-digital-assistant