Got Philips Hue lights? A free software update could turn them into motion sensors

• The Connectivity Standards Alliance teased an update to the Zigbee protocol
• The update will let Zigbee devices like Hue lights work as occupancy sensors
• We don't yet have a timeline for when the feature might be rolled out

Your Philips Hue lights could soon get a lot smarter thanks to a free firmware update that would let them do double-duty as occupancy sensors. It involves an update to the Zigbee wireless protocol, and could allow your bulbs and lamps to detect your presence without the need for any extra hardware.

When you connect your smart lights, switches and other devices to a Philips Hue Bridge, it creates a mesh network using the Zigbee protocol. This allows all the devices to communicate with the Bridge and one another, and receive over-the-air (OTA) firmware updates to fix bugs and add new features.

This week, the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), the organization behind Zigbee, announced a new feature called Ambient Sensing that will let Zigbee devices like Hue lights sense whether you're home without any extra hardware. It will be available for both new and legacy devices, and will be rolled out via an OTA update.

In a short video, the CSA explained that Ambient Sensing will "unlock new user experiences such as autonomous lighting control and home security, all while enjoying the privacy of running 100% locally without adding occupancy sensors in every room."

Zigbee - Ambient Sensing - YouTube

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When is it coming?

As Mike Robinson of TechCrawlr explains, it's still early days for Ambient Sensing. The CSA hasn't offered a timeline for when it will roll out, and Signify (the company behind Philips Hue) hasn't given any indication of whether it'll be available for Hue bulbs and lamps. Nevertheless, it seems like a natural addition to the Hue system, and could even replace the Philips Hue Intelligent Indoor Motion Sensor.

Fabian of Hueblog.com (a reliable source of early information on Philips Hue) claims to have insider information on the subject, including some details of requirements for Ambient Sensing.

"According to the information available to me, the Philips Hue function requires at least three light sources in a room, which must be placed at a certain distance and in a suitable shape," Fabian says. "A permanent power supply to the light sources is of course essential. It should also be possible to set the intensity of the motion detection."

Signify already has some interesting plans for the coming year, including an AI assistant that will create custom lighting scenes for you using voice commands, but this sounds like a more practical, and potentially more useful feature. I'll keep my ear to the ground for more news and keep you updated as soon as I know more.

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