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Home / News / Look ma, no hands: Philips’ new motion sensor gives Hue lights a mind of their own

Look ma, no hands: Philips’ new motion sensor gives Hue lights a mind of their own

Manual controls are like, so last year

Oh look, it’s the tiniest light bulb in the world, in a big square… thing. Hooray?

That’s no moon lightbulb, though you’re sort of close. It is in fact the latest clever bit of kit to be added to Philips’ Hue smart home lighting roster.

Meet the new Hue motion sensor.

Oh hey there. Nice to meet Hue.

Very good. But back to business eh? We’ve got tech to fondle.

As its name suggests, the motion sensor is, well, exactly that – a motion sensor which happily slots straight into new or existing Philips Hue systems, connected directly to the central hub – the centre of the smart web in which all Hue lamps, bulbs and light strips are connected to.

Once connected, you can place it anywhere you fancy, thanks to its battery power source. Pair it up with a specific bulb, and hey presto – you’re in Auto-Light Town. Population: you.

Great. Or I could just, you know, flick a switch.

Well sure you could, but the motion sensor goes beyond providing light for the incredibly lazy.

It’s clever enough to detect how much ambient light there is, before adjusting the brightness and shade of the emitted light automatically.

Rise in the middle of the night to undo some of the strain those pints placed on your bladder, for example, and you’ll be greeted with a gentle eye-friendly glow, lighting the way to your bathroom like a helpful will-o’-the-wisp.

You can also set the sensor to only work at night, saving energy in the day, and it’ll also helpfully kill the lights once it’s detected no activity for a certain amount of time. Captain Planet would be very proud.

If you fancy lighting up your life without having to lift a finger then you can snap up the Hue motion sensor for £35, by the end of October..

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About

Esat has been a gadget fan ever since his tiny four-year-old brain was captivated by a sound-activated dancing sunflower. From there it was a natural progression to a Sega Mega Drive, a brief obsession with hedgehogs, and a love for all things tech. After 7 years as a writer and deputy editor for Stuff, Esat ventured out into the corporate world, spending three years as Editor of Microsoft's European News Centre. Now a freelance writer, his appetite for shiny gadgets has no bounds. Oh, and like all good human beings, he's very fond of cats.