Keep an eye on your home (literally) with this creepy new motion sensor from Fibaro

By Drew Prindle September 12, 2014

fibaro motion sensor eye screen shot 2014 09 12 at 1 27 21 pm — Image used with permission by copyright holder

At this point, DIY smart home kits are as common as pigeons, and while normally the announcement of yet another one wouldn’t be a newsworthy event, Polish startup Fibaro has managed to stand out from the crowd by giving their latest product a strange (and slightly creepy) appearance.

The newest member to the company’s growing lineup of network-connected, app-enabled sensors is a motion sensor — but not just any motion sensor. This sensor is designed to look like a disembodied reptilian eyeball. Why? Because a house just isn’t a home without a miniature Eye of Sauron watching over it at all times, obviously.

Related: What the heck are ZigBee, Z-Wave, and Insteon? Home automation standards explained

In addition to all the requisite tech you’d expect to find under the hood of a motion sensor, Fibaro’s device is also equipped with a set of colored LEDs that, when turned on, make the spherical white ball take on the appearance of an eye. With the help of the accompanying smartphone app, you can even tweak the color of sensor, so if you’d prefer to be watched by the unblinking gaze of a blue eye rather than a yellow one, you can change it with just a few taps.

Details on the exact specs of Fibaro’s motion sensor (as well as the rest of its smart home ecosystem) are scarce at this point, but the company’s website does suggest that the system will run on the Z-Wave protocol, which means it’ll likely have great range and be compatible with Z-Wave devices from other manufacturers. We’ll keep you posted on availability and pricing, but for the time being you can find out more about the system on Fibaro’s website.

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Drew Prindle is an award-winning writer, editor, and storyteller who currently serves as Senior Features Editor for Digital…

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