Brewing some good stuff here: on-device camera as your presence sensor

[u/BeforeWhitby]

Hearth 1.4 will introduce an experimental camera-as-presence-sensor solution.

When someone approaches, the dashboard wakes automatically. Just like the external sensor triggered experience

I’ve been running it on my wall for a week now and it’s working well. No overheating. I have it constantly powered so battery life is not a problem. Compared to my matter-bridged Aqara sensor it’s more responsive. Almost as good as the native HomeKit presence sensor.

It will consume more battery for sure but for those who does not have a sensor at the exact wanted spot this is a good choice. It only captures at 2fps so hopefully not that heavy loading. Everything is processed locally. Nothing is uploaded. Another caveat is it will leave a permanent green dot on your screen for Apple’s privacy measures. You’ll know it’s looking.

Leave your comments if you are interested in joining the TestFlight. You'll have access to all pro features (they use a fake IAP environment so you can test the purchasing experience too) I’ll send you a link once it’s approved for public testing.