Wasp in a box
Automating lights in a room is not easy is you’re going to use a motion sensor. I thought because I was using Home Assistant I could create a robust automation that would work flawlessly.
I was wrong.
One of my channel members @andersonimes (this guy is filled with great information and ideas) mentioned in passing the concept “Wasp in a box” and posted this link. Little did he know at the time, I was experimenting with creating an occupancy sensor network to reliably track presence throughout a home and this “Wasp in a box” concept provided valuable perspective. You can check out the link above to learn about the concept but here’s a gist:
Aqara’s in-app automation builder
Imagine you have an empty box that can detect movement of anything that is inside it but you can’t see what is in the box. A wasp flies into the box and you get alerted, however you can’t know for certain if the wasp is in the box when the alert stops because you box can’t tell the difference between the wasp standing still or not being in the box. You would know with certainty that the wasp is in the box if you close the box and the box alerts you at least once while the lid is close. Since the wasp can’t escape, we know that if the was is standing still and the box doesn’t alert us of motion we know that the wasp is there. If we open the lid then our certain goes down as any registered motion could mean the wasp leaving or moving around inside.
Im certain I butchered the explanation but that’s the general idea. If we substitute the box for a bathroom or enclosed room, and sub the wasp for a person, then the concept become clearer how we should build the automation. Depending on your automation platform you would need about 4 different automation.
An automation to turn on the light
An automation to turn off the light when no motion is present for a period of time
An automation to disable the second automation when motion is detected while the door is closed
An automation to enable the second automation when the door goes from closed to open.
Aqara’s app does this extremely well because your automation have the ability to enable and disable other automations. And even though the options they provide you are limited, they are so versatile you can easily create the essential automations. I tried replicating the automation in Home Assistant but I kept getter strange results where the light would turn on and off sporadically. But after seeing how well Aqara’s app worked, I placed Aqara’s door/window sensor on the bathroom and closet doors and added the P1 motion sensor to each of the rooms.
When Aqara came out with their upgraded sensor, the matter enabled P2 Motion and Light sensor, I had just finished getting the Wasp in a box automation working for the master bathroom and master closet. The video below shows my success and failures doing the Wasp in a box automation in Apple’s Homekit.
If you would like to try out the wasp in a box technique you’ll need a smart light/switch, door window sensor, and motion sensor. You can use the equipment you have or you can try these Aqara devices:
Note: You’ll need Aqara’s Hub to use these devices. Or if you’re into Home Assistant, you may not need it (but you didn’t hear that from me)
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