LAS VEGAS — At CES this week, WiFi solutions vendor Plume unveiled a clever new home automation technology that it believes will enable its cable operator clients to further extend services into emerging areas such as home security and aging in place.

The technology, which Plume calls Plume Motion essentially turns any smart device in the home—whether it be a light fixture or a thermostat—into a motion sensor, detecting changes in WiFi radio waves caused by motion in the house. The technology is capable of telling users when and where in the home the motion is taking place.

The feature is powered by software from Plume technology partner Cognitive Software, which can be provided as an upgrade to existing Plume mesh WiFi hardware.

Related: Expo News: Charter To Team with Plume For Managed WiFi

Speaking to Multichannel News after Plume’s CES presentation, company co-founder and CEO Fahri Diner, admitted to being initially skeptical about the potential of Plume Motion when his product development team first pitched him the idea. He said he quickly came to realize the potential of the technology to detect, say, when a burglar has entered a home, or if parents simply want to monitor if their children have returned safely from school.

One potentially exciting application is aging place. Diner said operator clients in Japan, which has a fast-growing aging in place population, are particularly excited about a technology that would let adult children more effectively monitor their aging parents.

In Japan, Plume notably serves J Comm, but it has Tier 1 operator clients all over the globe. Both Comcast and Liberty Global have backed the Palo Alto-based startup, which also counts Charter Communications, Vodaphone, Bell Canada and Armstrong Communications as clients, as well.

Pioneering open sources WiFi management software tools such as OpenSync, Plume is a leader in the Smart Home 2.0 initiative, a movement to develop cloud-based, data-centric tools for the future of home automation.

Technicolor has sold its WiFi management software business to AirTies for an undisclosed sum, the two technology vendors have announced.

Istanbul, Turkey-based AirTies will assume control of Wireless Doctor, Technicolor’s suite of WiFi management applications for home and business, its sales contacts, as well as the 30-person team behind the product.

AirTies and the Paris-headquartered Technicolor, one of the larger suppliers of WiFi gateways to the global operator community, will stay in business together, jointly looking for ways to develop and sell WiFi management solutions.

Related: AirTies to Debut RDK-Based Mesh WiFi Solution for Operators

Wireless Doctor is a suite of cloud-based performance management software, embedded decision logic, and apps used by service providers to support field technicians, network engineers, customer care agents, marketing personnel and data analysts to improve the in-home WiFi experience of their subscribers.

The acquisition will be used to bolster AirTies Remote Manager, a cloud-based optimization suite that provides real-time visibility and historical performance analysis to better manage consumer WiFi.

“One of the most critical issues facing service providers today is the lack of visibility and control over their subscribers' in-home WiFi experience,” said Philippe Alcaras, CEO of AirTies. “We have been tremendously impressed by Technicolor’s software, intellectual property and personnel, and look forward to strengthening our position as the leader in Smart WiFi solutions for service providers. We are also extremely excited to partner with Technicolor on ways to leverage our Smart WiFi software."