Elgato Announces 'Eve Motion' HomeKit-Enabled Wireless Motion Sensor

[MacRumors]

Elgato today announced the latest product in its line of HomeKit accessories, debuting the Eve Motion wireless motion sensor. The Eve Motion is a small square-shaped accessory that can be put anywhere in your house, indoors or outdoors.

It works in tandem with other HomeKit accessories, allowing you to create scenes that can be set off using automatic triggers. When placed in an entry way, for example, the Eve Motion can automatically turn on the lights and raise the thermostat when it detects that you've entered the house. It works with the Eve HomeKit app, Apple's own Home app, and with other HomeKit apps that support third-party accessories.

"Motion sensors are an indispensable part of a home automation setup," said Markus Fest, General Manager of Elgato. " With no wires attached, Eve Motion is a versatile trigger for a host of unique and creative scenarios."

Eve Motion connects to a HomeKit setup using Bluetooth and like the rest of Elgato's products, it does not require a bridge. It runs off of two replaceable AA batteries, so it doesn't need to be charged, and it has a 120 degree field of view and a range of nine meters with a response time of two seconds. An IPX3 water resistance means it's resistant to small splashes of water and moisture, but it shouldn't be outside in a torrential downpour.

Eve Motion joins Elgato's other HomeKit-enabled products, including the Eve Energy smart outlet, the Eve Room indoor sensor, the Eve Weather outdoor sensor, the Eve Door & Window door sensor, and the Eve connected Light Switch.

The Eve Motion is available from the Elgato website or from Amazon.com for $49.95.

Article Link: Elgato Announces 'Eve Motion' HomeKit-Enabled Wireless Motion Sensor

 

[hagar]

Cool, but two seconds seems like a long time. In that time I could have already switched on the light manually and go halfway up the stairs.

 

[Crzyrio]

Their line of Home Kit products is easily the best on the market. I just wish I could afford it with this dam Canadian dollar.

 

[doelcm82]

Cool, but two seconds seems like a long time. In that time I could have already switched on the light manually and go halfway up the stairs.

Agreed. I can see it would be useful for automating devices in the rest of the house (such as setting the thermostat, starting your playlist, or running a bath, or pouring you a glass of wine), but too annoying for turning on a light in your entryway.

Hopefully there will be a version 2.

 

[Rian Gray]

Are they using bluetooth again? I've tried Eve Room before, and with Bluetooth in play, the reading was either off or non-existence. If they are planning to make smart home gadgets, I think Wifi is the way to go at this point in time.

 

[OCDMacGeek]

Are they using bluetooth again? I've tried Eve Room before, and with Bluetooth in play, the reading was either off or non-existence. If they are planning to make smart home gadgets, I think Wifi is the way to go at this point in time.

Precisely! I have over a hundred HomeKit Accessories and the Bluetooth Elgato ones have terrible range and reliability. They are slow too. I can't imagine this will work well.

Edit: I'm going to buy one, of course. haha.

 

[trifid]

Cool, but two seconds seems like a long time. In that time I could have already switched on the light manually and go halfway up the stairs.

1000x this, deal breaker for me as well.

 

[profets]

Precisely! I have over a hundred HomeKit Accessories and the Bluetooth Elgato ones have terrible range and reliability. They are slow too. I can't imagine this will work well.

Edit: I'm going to buy one, of course. haha.

I didn't even realize there's 100 HomeKit accessories available.

 

[Clarky!]

Cool, but two seconds seems like a long time. In that time I could have already switched on the light manually and go halfway up the stairs.

I live in share apartment so be perfect in hallway by time i unlock my door. Does it say if its secure? as in needs my iphone or apple watch to be in range and couple with it?

 

[ipedro]

Sold! I was about to buy a Hue motion sensor but that would only control my lights because it's not able to trigger HomeKit scenes. ElGato's does.

 

[KrisLord]

Sold! I was about to buy a Hue motion sensor but that would only control my lights because it's not able to trigger HomeKit scenes. ElGato's does.

I've just received my hue motion sensor. It's great but interested to know if this is better. I've been a bit put off by the Bluetooth connection and any time delays.

Whilst the Hue isn't HomeKit compatible, my main use of motion sensing is switching on lights quickly when I enter the room. Things like heating can work without motion sensing, geolocation is more than enough.

 

[macosxuser01]

Elgato Eve products are garbage. Don't waste your time with this crap. If you want a reliable Smart Home solution get a 2GIG system with Alarm.com interactive services

 

[OCDMacGeek]

I didn't even realize there's 100 HomeKit accessories available.

Well this was my little tour from a year ago and I've added on since then. It's a lot.

 

[Smith288]

The ecobee sensors can now act as motion sensors now with their latest firmware update I believe.

 

[Carlanga]

Their line of Home Kit products is easily the best on the market. I just wish I could afford it with this dam Canadian dollar.

Even w us coin is expensive.
Not this brand, but I only have a HomeKit very simple plug switch and that is because I bought it at half the price on clearance from Walmart. It works great though.
[doublepost=1478152193][/doublepost]

Well this was my little tour from a year ago and I've added on since then. It's a lot.

Nice video! How do the shades work? Can you retrofit or you need to change the shades? Btw, your dog came without using voice Siri, His HomeKit integration is amazing. Why didn't you let him in lol.

 

[RMo]

Are they using bluetooth again? I've tried Eve Room before, and with Bluetooth in play, the reading was either off or non-existence. If they are planning to make smart home gadgets, I think Wifi is the way to go at this point in time.

No, ZigBee or Z-Wave Plus is the way to go at this point in time. Bluetooth and Wi-Fi both have problems with range, and Wi-Fi has the additional problem of being more power hungry. ZigBee and Z-Wave are low power and capable of mesh networking, meaning certain (powered) devices are capable of repeating the signal from other devices that might otherwise be too far away from your controller to work, and it's what you'll find in most wireless home automation products nowadays (smart outlets, motion sensors, smart lights, thermostats, etc.) except for a few that chose to go the Wi-Fi route, which the manufacturers may have chosen in the name of convenience.

The downside of ZigBee and Z-Wave (and why I said Wi-Fi may provide a perceived convenience advantage--at least if you only have one or two such devices) is that you need a controller to really make the devices work, for which most people use a bridge (like SmartThings or Vera) that allows it to interface with your IP network and therefore work over your network (including Wi-Fi) if needed. This bridge (and/or devices, but with Hue the individual bulbs themselves don't seem to matter) will also need to be able to work with HomeKit--but so far the only such device I'm aware of is Philips Hue's second-generation Hue bridge, which only works with their lights (plus more or less with a few third-party ones that happen to implement a compatible ZigBee profile) and new motion sensors, but it isn't a general home-automation hub. I'm not actually sure if HomeKit would allow such certification for a general-purpose Z-Wave/ZigBee hub due to the vast nature of devices it is capable of controlling (light bulbs aren't exactly a security risk), but I'm not that familiar with the specs.

Anyway, Z-Wave or ZigBee would be a nice addition to this so it would also be compatible with other systems if desired. They are both widely used standards in this field. As is, I wouldn't have a use for this despite having an extensive network of motion detectors, open/close sensors, and smart lights in an existing, mostly ZigBee HA system.

 

[Fiestaman]

The ecobee sensors can now act as motion sensors now with their latest firmware update I believe.

This is intriguing. One of the shortfalls I've run into with the Ecobee remote sensors is their update frequency. I have 4 remote sensors working with my 2 Ecobee3 thermostats and they work great since temperature changes don't have to be instantaneous. However, I have all of the sensors tied in with my 100+ other devices using SmartThings and also utilize a code package called My Ecobee Device. It allows me to integrate the remote sensors into SmartThings and use their motion sensing capabilities. If they detect motion, though, the earliest they will no longer detect motion is 30 minutes later. My Ecobee Device however does allow me to utilize 3rd party sensors with my Ecobee and makes adjustments accordingly just like the Follow Me function. This has allowed me to have 14 different sensors throughout the house and it's much cheaper than buying all the remote sensors from Ecobee.
Do you know the refresh rate for motion? Did they make it much faster? I wonder what the effect will be on battery life, if any.