Who needs cameras when you’ve got a Wi-Fi router?
Want to keep tabs on who is creeping about your house when you’re out? Know when Grandma got up this morning, or even get an alert if a mouse makes a move? While previously you would need a host of motion sensors and cameras to do the job, Linksys says you can now do it all with its mesh Wi-Fi system.
The router manufacturer has announced a new subscription service, Linksys Aware, which detects activity via Wi-Fi signals and sends you “motion alerts” through the Linksys Smart WiFi App.
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You can turn them on, off or snooze them, control the frequency, and customize the motion sensitivity level – so you can get just person, pet, or even tiny critter alerts.
The service will be available first on all Linksys Velop Tri-Band AC2200 routers and its obvious use-case is as a basic security system – get an alert if there’s motion in your house when you’re gone.
Being able to sense motion without the use of cameras has potential privacy benefits, although it doesn’t help address the question of who or what is moving around your home. But putting your internet router to better use within the smart home is a definite step in the right direction.
“Motion sensing in mesh WiFi has incredible potential to change the way the general public taps into the capabilities of their routers,” said Matthew Keasler, Linksys Aware product manager.
Linksys sees this new capability as being an essential cog in the future smart home. The company is owned by Belkin International, which produces the popular line of WeMo smart home gadgets, so the potential is certainly there.
Right now it just sends you alerts, but integrated with other smart home devices, if it is positionally-aware, it could be used to aid other connected home features.
For example, turn lights on when you enter a room, or assist with aging in place by letting a remote caregiver know when an elderly person is up and moving about.
Linksys says the service will be phased in on its other mesh Wi-Fi routers, but it’s available now for Velop Tri-Band users via a firmware and app update. Linksys Aware is free for the first 90 days, then costs $2.99 a month or $24.99 for a year.
