Sony's smart light turns on the TV when you enter a room
The "Multifunctional Light" also works as an intercom and alarm system.
Sony is launching a connected light that performs a surprising number of chores. The "Multifunctional Light," developed using Toshiba's LED lighting tech, can (of course) output a full spectrum of light to match your mood. When it's connected to your smartphone or other WiFi device, you can also activate it remotely or set it up on a scheduled timer, like most other smart bulbs. That's just scratching the surface of this product, though. It also has built-in motion, luminance, temperature and humidity sensors, along with a memory card slot, infrared controller, speaker and microphone. For a light fixture, that lets it do a ridiculous amount of stuff.
For instance, it can detect when you're in the room and turn on the TV or air conditioning, work as a room-to-room intercom, control your thermostat, play music, act as a motion detector alarm system and record and play back messages. You can program all of those features in infinite ways via the app, making it more like a smart home hub than a simple light fixture. The one large caveat is that it's likely only coming to Japan in the first half of 2016, for now. Once Sony tests the waters there, hopefully they'll unleash the intriguing device in Europe and North America.
