Hey everyone, I wanted to share an exciting project I’ve been working on! Yesterday, I completed a working prototype of a Cortana skill designed specifically for HABot. This skill has been a labor of love, and I’m thrilled to see it come together so smoothly thanks to the incredible work of the HABot developers. While the skill isn’t fully polished yet, it’s already more than halfway there, and I’m eager to get your feedback and input.
The Cortana skill is built using the Microsoft Bot Framework and is currently hosted on Microsoft Azure through my company. What it does is create a seamless login experience and forwards queries to HABot, making it easier than ever to interact with your smart home devices through voice commands. The best part? The code is completely open-source and available on GitHub for anyone to contribute to or use!
I’m now looking for testers to help me refine this skill further. If you’re interested in testing, I have 30 spots available, and all you need to do is provide your Microsoft account email. Once I enable the skill for you, you’ll be able to start using it right away. I’d also love to get permission to launch this skill as an official channel on the Cortana Skills Store once it’s polished to perfection.
Looking ahead, there are a few improvements I’d like to make. Better error handling is a priority, and I’d love to incorporate support for cards and visuals, not just text and voice. If granted OAuth access, the login experience could be significantly enhanced, making it even smoother for users. Additionally, making sure everything is spoken and testing the voice-only interface are on my to-do list.
I’d also love to hear from the community about the possibility of launching this skill on other platforms like Skype, Facebook Messenger, and more. The potential for HABot to be accessible across all communication channels is huge, and I can’t wait to explore that further.
To anyone interested in contributing, whether through testing or code improvements, please reach out. I’m using CI/CD pipelines, so any PRs you submit will be instantly reflected in the skill. I’d also like to reassure everyone that while the skill is currently hosted on my company’s Azure account, I’m committed to keeping it running smoothly. If it becomes unexpectedly popular, I’ll work on finding a scalable solution to keep everything up and running.
This project has been a testament to how powerful open-source collaboration can be. Thanks to HABot, what would have been a daunting task took less than a day to accomplish. I’m truly grateful for the work that’s already been done and excited to see where this project goes next. If you’re interested in testing or contributing, drop me a message, and let’s make this skill even better together!
Cheers,
[Your Name]