Ditch the motions sensors and automate your lighting the easy way
WiZ is set to debut an innovative new feature – SpaceSense – that sees its smart lighting being controlled through Wi-Fi signals, rather than a motion sensor.
Announced by smart lighting specialist Signify – the company behind WiZ and the pricier Philips Hue – the new feature will land in an upgraded version of the app in late September.
When V2 of the app drops, SpaceSense will come with it, foregoing the need for sensors and instead relying on Wi-Fi signals to automate home lighting.
It works by measuring disturbing signals in the air and using these deviations to understand whether somebody is still in a room. When no motion is detected, the lights will turn off. And, of course, if motion is detected through the omnidirectional feature, they’ll stay on.
You’ll need at least two WiZ smart lights operating in a room for SpaceSense to work (any lights from the company are compatible) and be running V2 of the WiZ app. From there, you can also adjust the sensitivity of the system – meaning errant toddlers or pets running around won’t trigger the feature as easily, for example.
SpaceSense may be the headline, then, but Signify has also detailed a couple more helpful changes coming to the wider experience, with the upgraded version of the WiZ app debuting a redesigned interface and a couple of new features.
One is Quick Action, which, true to its name, allows users to have an entire lighting setup on speed dial within the app. The other is Light Scene Management, which lets WiZ owners capture the settings in a room, tweak the setup, name it and then use voice control to bring it to life.
There was also room for some product news, with Signify confirming the arrival of an outdoor smart light, the £109.99 WiZ String Light. This will land in October in the UK, though we currently don’t have any details regarding a release in the US or the rest of Europe.