Here’s the technology that could turn millions of Zigbee light bulbs into motion sensors with a single update

Lights that turn on when you enter a room and turn off when you leave are one of the most desirable smart home features. But you need to purchase additional hardware such as motion sensors to make this “magic” happen. A new ambient sensing technology called… Feel This can be made easier by turning your light bulbs into motion sensors. And it may be landing on a Philips Hue bridge near you very soon.

Sensify is a Wireless network sensor (WNS) technology developed by Ivan It can turn your mains-powered Zigbee devices into motion sensors to control your lights with just a firmware update – no additional hardware needed. The best part is that it can work on devices that most homes already have. “There are tens of millions of devices with the core firmware already in place; “We’re just working on the finishing touches to flesh out the full experience,” says Justin McKinney, co-founder of Ivani. Edge.

The obvious use case for this is a Zigbee-based smart lighting system like Philips Hue. There has been speculation that Hugh is Working on Zigbee sensor technology Since the sister company Wiz debuted with similar technology It’s called SpaceSense in 2022, which uses WNS over Wi-Fi. Insider hueblog.com reports that Zigbee wireless network sensing is present The technology that Hugh is likely to use. Edge She reached out to Signify, which owns Hue, but has yet to receive a response.

McKinney didn’t mention companies using Ivani’s Sensify, which has been in development since 2016, but noted that the company is working “with some big household names that are ready to deploy the technology very soon.” He also said that it is the only company to offer this capability over Zigbee networks.

Ivany is a member of the Communications Standards Alliance (CSA), which manages the Zigbee protocol, but Sensify is a proprietary solution that takes advantage of the Zigbee network. Although reports suggest that this sensor technology will reach all Zigbee devices, the CSA has confirmed this Edge This is not a new feature within Zigbee itself.

WNS works by detecting disturbances in radio frequencies and can also be applied to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Thread technologies. Sensify requires three or more devices to be placed around a detection area to detect movement and occupancy in a space, McKinney says. The technology also allows for precise detection zones based on where devices are located. “Devices send messages to each other, look at basic network diagnostic information, and process it to provide occupancy sensing decisions,” McKinney says.

In terms of performance, McKinney says Sensify is “equivalent or superior” to passive infrared (PIR) sensing technology, which is traditionally used for motion sensing. It also doesn’t need a line of sight, as PIR does. However, it is not as accurate as the techniques Millimeter wave sensorWhich can determine if someone is in the room through a simple movement like breathing. “The lights are more likely to go out if you’re stationary, even if you’re in space,” he says.

The good news is that Sensify can run on Zigbee networks with a range of chipsets working together, meaning it can be deployed as a software update for existing systems. McKinney also emphasized that Sensify runs locally on your Zigbee network, there is no Sensify cloud, and any sensor data can only be accessed by the manufacturer deploying the technology.

This video, published by the Canadian Space Agency, demonstrates how Ivani’s wireless network sensing works over a Zigbee network.

Smart home motion sensing has many use cases, from lighting control and security to energy management and elderly care. Two big advantages of WNS here are cost and size. There is no need to purchase additional hardware to have this capability, and many homes already have devices that can use it.

Ivani is currently the only company with a Zigbee solution, but there are WNS solutions that use Wi-Fi. Wireless origin and its partner company, growing, They were the first to develop Wi-Fi sensing, and are leading Matter’s efforts around bringing ambient RF sensing technologies to the smart home level.

Origin technology supported Linksys is awareThis is a feature launched by the router company in 2019 that turns its routers into motion sensors, and last year, Threshold launched the smart plug Use Origin’s Wi-Fi sensor to allow caregivers to monitor their loved ones’ activity remotely.

In 2021, I tested Hexagon Home Pagea proof-of-concept security system from Origin that uses a Wi-Fi sensor instead of motion sensors. But false positives made it almost unusable. I also tried out the Wi-Fi-based SpaceSense when it first launched. It has been more reliable but still somewhat inconsistent. However, according to McKinney, advances in machine learning and artificial intelligence have led to significant improvements in WNS technology.

Ivani’s Sensify technology is ready to be deployed via Zigbee, he says, and they’re just waiting for their partners to fine-tune how best to “deliver the feature within their product lines.” It is expected that they will update the existing products in the next few months. “We’re excited to experience and beta test our partners’ products in our homes, and this is truly a promise of what home automation was meant to be.”

There have been a lot of promises made about home automation over the years, and only a few have been delivered. But the idea of, say, turning every Philips Hue light bulb in your home into a motion sensor overnight, making it easy to automatically control the lights without sticking white plastic sensors everywhere, is a rather exciting idea.