ADT has just purchased the company that invented Wi-Fi motion sensing

ADT, the 150-year-old company best known for home security I got Origin Wireless In a $170 million deal to expand the capabilities of its security and smart home offerings. Origin Wireless has developed algorithms that analyze how radio frequency signals bounce around a space to detect the presence and movements of people and objects without the need for additional sensors.

ADT plans to integrate Original Wireless technology into its smart home and security systems to add more context when security alarms are triggered, and potentially reduce false alarms. By leveraging existing technologies such as Wi-Fi, future ADT systems may also require fewer sensors around the home, simplifying the installation process.

“This acquisition represents a major step forward in our vision to deliver a safer, smarter home that understands context, recognizes risk and provides peace of mind, all while protecting customer privacy,” says Omar Khan, executive vice president and chief business officer at ADT. “By integrating AI sensing into the home, we plan to add a new intelligence layer, elevating traditional security and smart home capabilities by allowing ADT to verify human presence, classify and analyze movement, and add context to alarm events and other conditions within the home.”

ADT said It will continue to license Origin Wireless technology To Verisure, a security systems provider in Europe and South America. Edge I reached out to ADT to ask whether the company plans to continue licensing the technology to other new companies, and will update this story with a response.