HomeKit Is it possible to setup an automation between multiple motion sensors?

[darkus]

Admittedly I don’t know much of anything about HomeKit and automations but have been reading a lot and I think I have the basic hang of how it would work.

My question is, do you think it’s possible to setup an automation with multiple motion sensors as follows: motion sensor #1 (outside) detects movement AND motion sensor #2 (inside) does NOT detect motion do automation 1 (turn on lights for example).

So in effect the automation only runs if one motion sensor detects motion and the other does not thereby confirming nobody is inside, not outside.

I know that HomeKit provides a way to say “nobody is home” but from what I understand it does this by seeing where an iPhone is and so that’s really unreliable for example if I have a guest over but I am outside, well I don’t want it to run

I was actually thinking of doing it on a larger scale with say 3-4 sensors and some combination of if yes if no, etc..

Think these types of combos are possible?

 

[gwhizkids]

Admittedly I don’t know much of anything about HomeKit and automations but have been reading a lot and I think I have the basic hang of how it would work.

My question is, do you think it’s possible to setup an automation with multiple motion sensors as follows: motion sensor #1 (outside) detects movement AND motion sensor #2 (inside) does NOT detect motion do automation 1 (turn on lights for example).

So in effect the automation only runs if one motion sensor detects motion and the other does not thereby confirming nobody is inside, not outside.

I know that HomeKit provides a way to say “nobody is home” but from what I understand it does this by seeing where an iPhone is and so that’s really unreliable for example if I have a guest over but I am outside, well I don’t want it to run

I was actually thinking of doing it on a larger scale with say 3-4 sensors and some combination of if yes if no, etc..

Think these types of combos are possible?

Not natively using HomeKit and the Home app. I think you’d need to get a third party app like Home Assistant that allows multiple conditions.

 

[waw74]

home assistant is way overkill for this, and getting your homekit devices into HA can take some work. plus requires a computer on and running.

couple ways to do this, It can be done in the home app, but it's a little complicated, the other requires a free third party app, and is much easier. both of these ways will run just fine on your existing home hubs.

-- in the home app, on the action for the automation, scroll to the bottom, and convert to shortcut, then add an "if' statement. click condition, and "home select accessory". then pick the motion sensor you want to look at and choose the state. you can probably delete the otherwise item that's auto created. Then put the actions you want to happen between the "if" and the "end if." you want to look for "control home" and then add the scenes or accessories. you can drag the items around to get them in the right place. if you wanted to take different actions based on if #2 is motion or not, leave the otherwise in and add items before or after it.


-- Get the eve app, it's a second front end for the homekit backend. Just grant it access to homekit, and everything will show in both apps. and any changes made in one will appear in the other. In that app it's in the automation tab then rules. You can add a trigger (motion #1 on) and a condition (#2 off) and then add what you want to happen. It also allows you to add multiple triggers, which will trigger the automation when any one of those things happen.


---- for you motion sensor choice
if you don't have your motion sensors yet, look into the Aqara FP2, it's a presence sensor, connects via wifi. As opposed to a motion sensor which detect motion, it detects someone being there even if they aren't moving. It's basically low resolution radar, that knows where in the room you are, and is sensitive enough to pick up your breathing. Their app marks out your space in approx 1/2 meter blocks, and you assign each to a zone. So you could have a "living room" zone and a "couch" zone. Those blocks can only be assigned to one zone at a time, so if you're on the couch, the couch will be occupied, and even though the couch is physically in the living room, the living room zone will be "not occupied." It can sense up to 5 people at a time, so the couch and living room can both be occupied at the same time, just needs a person in each. These also time out much quicker than a motion sensor does. Motion sensors have a time out, usually 30-60 seconds, and they change to "no motion" only after they haven't seen motion for that time. Presence sensors will timeout as soon as you leave the zone.

especially in the kitchen, my motion sensor would turn off while I was still there if I was doing things like washing dishes, since the only parts of me that were moving were my arms, which were hidden from the motion sensor by my body, the presence sensor has no issues with that.

There are other presence sensors out there, the other from Aqara requires a hub. not sure about the other manufacturers, I've got 2 FP2s and they've been pretty good. They are USB powered, and do not come with a power adapter, so you may want to throw an adapter and possibly longer cords in when you order. The included cords are 6ft/2m long and the sensor has a USB-C connector.