Lights that turn on when you walk into a room and turn off when you leave are one of the most desirable smart home features. But you need to buy additional hardware like motion sensors to make this magic happen. A new ambient sensing technology called Sensify could make this easier by turning your light bulbs into motion sensors. And it might be landing on a Philips Hue bridge near you very soon.There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; were just working on the final touches to lightup the full experience. Sensify is a wireless network sensing (WNS) technology developed by Ivanithat can turn mains-powered Zigbee devices into motion sensors for controlling your lights with justa firmware update no additional hardware needed. The best part is that it can work on devices already in most homes. There are tens of millions of devices with the base firmware already out there; were just working on the final touches to lightup the full experience, Ivani cofounder Justin McKinney tells The Verge. An obvious use case for this is a Zigbee-based smart lighting system such as Philips Hue. Theres been speculation that Hue isworking on a Zigbee sensing technologysince its sister company Wiz debuted a similar tech called SpaceSense in 2022, which uses WNS over Wi-Fi. The well-informed hueblog.com reports that Zigbee wireless network sensing is the technology Hue will most likely use. The Verge reached out to Signify, which owns Hue, but hasnt yet received a response. This engineering video demonstrates how Sensifys Zigbee ambient sensing can turn lights on and off based on occupancy. Video: IvaniMcKinney wouldnt say which companies are using Ivanis Sensify, which has been in development since 2016, but he did share that the company is working with some large household names poised to deploy the technology very soon. He also said its the only company offering this capability over Zigbee networks. Ivani is a member of the Connectivity Standards Alliance (CSA), which runs the Zigbee protocol, but Sensify is a proprietary solution that leverages the Zigbee network. Despite reports indicating this sensing tech is coming to all Zigbee devices, the CSA confirmed to The Verge that 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. McKinney says Sensify requires three or more devices positioned around a detection area to detect motion and occupancy in the space. The tech also allows for precise detection zones based on where the devices are situated. The devices send messages to each other, look at underlying network diagnostic information, and process it to provide occupancy sensing decisions, says McKinney.Wireless network sensing requires three or more devices to work. This diagram from Ivani illustrates typical topologies. Image: IvaniPerformance-wise, McKinney says Sensify is equivalent or superior to passive infrared sensing (PIR) tech, which is traditionally used for motion sensing. It also doesnt need line of sight, as PIR does. However, its not as precise as technologies like mmWave sensing, which can determine if someone is in a room through as slight a movement as breathing. The lights will still likely turn off if youre still, even if youre in the 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 to existing systems. McKinney also confirmed Sensify runs locally on your Zigbee network, theres no Sensify cloud, and any sensing data is only accessible to the manufacturer deploying the technology. This video, published by the CSA, illustrates how Ivanis wireless network sensing works over a Zigbee network.Motion sensing in the smart home has several use cases, from lighting control and security to energy management and elder care. Two big advantages of WNS here are cost and scale. Theres no need to buy additional hardware to get the 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 out there that use Wi-Fi. Origin Wirelessand its partner company,Nami, were the first to develop Wi-Fi sensing, and they are leading Matters efforts around bringing ambient RF sensing technologies to the smart home standard. It really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to beOrigins technology powered Linksys Aware, a feature the router company launched in 2019 that turned its routers into motion sensors, and last year, Threshold launched a smart plugusing Origins Wi-Fi sensing to allow caregivers to monitor a loved ones activity remotely. In 2021, I tested Hex Home, a proof-of-concept security system from Origin that used Wi-Fi sensing instead of motion sensors. But false positives made it virtually unusable. I also tried Wizs Wi-Fi-based SpaceSense when it first launched. It was more reliable but still fairly inconsistent. However, according to McKinney, advances in machine learning and AI have brought significant improvements to WNS technology.He says Ivanis Sensify tech is ready for deployment over Zigbee, and theyre just waiting for their partners to fine-tune how best to introduce the feature within their productlines. He expects they will update existing products in the next few months. We have the pleasure of experiencing our partners products and their beta tests in our homes, and it really is the promise of what home automation was supposed to be.There have been a lot of promises around home automation over the years, with very few being fulfilled. But the idea of, say, every Philips Hue light bulb in your home turning into a motion sensor overnight, making it simple to automate control of your lights without sticking white plastic sensors everywhere, is a fairly exciting one.