Philips builds a WiFi light switch powered by your fingers

Those of you already living in the future with WiFi light bulbs controlled by your phones and tablets may be wondering how you can control them if you lose your phone or it runs out of charge? For that, Philips has a solution.

And that solution is to build a light switch.

That makes sense, right: a light needing a light switch?

But for the Hue Tap light switch, the company has tried a slightly different tactic, because light switches need electricity, especially those controlling light bulbs communicating over a wireless network, and so Philips has built a switch without batteries that works by taking power from your fingers.

Specifically, the Hue Tap works from kinetic energy, and is charged when your fingers touching it, consuming absolutely no power and not needing to be plugged into the power in your home.

This means you can mount it anywhere and provided you have a Philips Hue lighting system in your home, this powerless system can control what’s in your network, with four programmable buttons for switching on lights, scenes, or lighting recipes.

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“Hue Tap is the perfect solution for users who want to control their personal wireless lighting with yet more convenience,” said Rob Fletcher, General Manager of Philips Lighting in Australia and New Zealand.

“It is more than just a modern take on the wall switch,” he said, adding “it combines easy-to-use traditional lighting control with the smart, intuitive, fun world of Philips Hue.”

The Hue Tap is available now from Apple stores across Australia for a recommended retail price of $79.95, and requires a Philips Hue lighting system, which means a Hue Bridge must be present to make this system work.