Toronto-based Ecobee reportedly planning to release a smart home ‘contact sensor’

Just a few weeks ago news leaked that Toronto-based smart thermostat manufacturer Ecobee is reportedly working on Wi-Fi-enabled camera.

Now, that same source — Dave Zatz (@davezatz) of ZatzNotFunny — has revealed images of what seems to be a contact sensor that would be placed on a door or window to control smart home devices.

Sensors like this are typically used to notify a home security system when a door is closed or opened. That said, using one to control your smart home could yield some pretty interesting results.

For example, it could turn on a camera when the door is opened so you could see who is coming into your place. You could also even use it to turn off your air conditioning when you open a window.

And… looks like an ecobee contact sensor will also be joining the party! @rycrist @meganwollerton @rh_brown pic.twitter.com/oy7K2plGQt

— Dave Zatz (@davezatz) May 8, 2019

Ideally, the contact sensor could also be used to trigger alarms, lights and even adjust the temperature of an Ecobee thermostat when you get home. How it works is when one of the two parts of the sensor is moved away from the other — when a door is opened, for instance — some sort of smart home action could be triggered.

Given Ecobee only sells smart home thermostats, the Switch+ light switch and room sensors designed to work with its smart home thermostats, it’s likely this contact sensor will work with products from other smart home manufacturers like Google and Amazon.

It could also potentially be used in combination with Ecobee’s rumoured smart camera to create a more affordable take on Amazon’s Ring Alarm, which includes a contact sensor but only for home security purposes.

The Verge says Ecobee told the publication that the image of the contact sensor is just a “render” that may not end up being an actual product.

Regardless, with both a camera and a contact sensor leaking recently, it’s likely that Ecobee is moving beyond smart thermostats and is working on a number of smart home accessories.

Source: Dave Zatz (@davezatz), The Verge 

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