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A smart motion sensor typically detects the presence or movement of a person, while a smart switch is most often used to turn lights on or off. These devices are already useful just as they were designed, but did you know that you can actually program them to let you accomplish other useful things?

With a little creativity, you can use a smart sensor to warn you if you’re forgetting something, to catch if something goes wrong before it becomes a major problem, or to just generally make your life easier. Most of the features also do not require complex programming — you can either install the smart sensor directly where needed, or, at worst, add a timer via your preferred home app and keep notifications on.

Let’s look at a few handy uses for smart sensors that you probably haven’t considered yet. You might be surprised what these things can accomplish with a little bit of ingenuity.

Contact sensors are pretty simple smart devices, as their primary purpose is to warn you when the two pieces are not in contact. These are most commonly used for doors and windows — you can program them to send a notification on your phone when you leave your house, and you left a window or door open. There are also several creative uses for contact sensors, including automatically turning on lights and running a home routine.

Though these sensors are typically attached to doors and windows, that does not mean they’re limited to those used for access. If you often second-guess yourself about whether you’ve properly closed your fridge door, especially when you’re on vacation for a couple of days, attaching a contact sensor to it will help you avoid that problem. You can then set the sensor to warn you if the door is open for too long. If you still need to check, just open your phone and check the device’s status.

You can also install the sensor inside a cupboard or cabinet if you’re guarding stuff. For example, if you keep chocolates in your pantry and don’t want your kids raiding your sweets without your knowledge, you can set the sensor to warn you when the cupboard door opens, allowing you to check your smart security camera to see who’s the culprit.

Smart mailbox alarms exist to ensure you don’t miss letters or packages that might’ve arrived when you were asleep or weren’t home. After all, we rarely receive snail mail these days, but the letters that do come in are quite important, like a jury duty summons or your tax return check. These sensors work similarly to a motion sensor in that they detect movement in your inbox.

Because of this, you do not need to purchase a smart mailbox alarm — if you already have an extra motion sensor at home, you can install it in your mailbox and set it to alert you if it detects movement. However, this might not work for larger packages that won’t fit in your mailbox. So, if you want to get alerted when an Amazon package arrives at your doorstep, consider getting a Ring camera.

This smart doorbell camera can tell you when someone’s at your door, but you can also program it to notify you if it detects movement on your porch. This means it can double as a security camera while simultaneously notifying you if someone leaves a package at your doorstep.

Smart switches are often used for remotely turning on devices using voice commands. But because you can control them with an app, you can make them do a lot of other clever things beyond switching on or off on your command. One thing you can do is program your bathroom exhaust fan to work automatically based on which light you turn on.

The biggest problem some people encounter with bathroom exhaust fans is that they do not work optimally. Most exhaust fans turn on when you switch on the bathroom lights — this is a problem for some people, as it can cause a cold draft while they’re showering. And when you switch off the light after showering, it also turns off the exhaust, leaving excess moisture stuck inside your bathroom.

If you use a smart switch to control the lights and the exhaust fan in your bathroom, you can program it so that you don’t have to think about the exhaust fan. For example, you can set the exhaust fan to automatically turn on when you switch on the light for your toilet area to keep the area fresh. But for your shower, you can instead command the exhaust fan switch to turn on minutes after you turn off the light. That way, you don’t get chilly while you’re bathing, while the exhaust fan will still ensure that moisture is exhausted after you leave the restroom.

You might think that a water leak sensor is an unnecessary smart device for your home, especially if you live in a newly constructed dwelling. But if you live in an older home or experience freezing winters in your area, this might be a prudent investment. That’s because a leak sensor will warn you if you have a problem with your plumbing before it becomes a major issue, making it one of the smart gadget upgrades you can install in your bathroom or kitchen.

As the name suggests, these devices alert you when they detect a water leak. That way, you can immediately shut off your taps before the water spreads all over your floor. Since these smart devices send a notification to your phone, you also get warned wherever you are in the world as long as you’re online.

This is crucial if you’re away for an extended period. That way, you can immediately inform a trusted person to turn off the taps in your home and avoid coming home to extensive (and expensive) water damage.

Smart switches can be programmed to automatically turn on and off your perimeter and safety lights based on sunrise and sunset times. However, this only takes into account the position of the sun and does not consider meteorological effects. So, if you want to ensure that your lights turn on when the skies get too dark, you can install a smart light sensor.

With a smart light sensor installed, you can then use it to command all the lights around your home to switch on when it gets too dark — whether through the setting of the sun or because of a snowstorm — and turn off when there’s enough light to save on electricity costs. You can even use it to automatically adjust the dimmable lights in your home, ensuring a consistent brightness level throughout the day and night.

You can also pair a smart light sensor with a smart motion detector to specific areas in your home. That way, you can program lights in common areas, like your hallway or garden, to turn on only when someone is in the area and it’s dark. You can also use it to automatically lower or raise smart blinds to help keep the temperature in your home under control or to maximize natural light.

All 11 U.S. aircraft carriers employ what is called a “Five-Mile Rule,” which is rarely broken. The rule is a 5 nautical mile (5.75-mile) exclusion zone established around aircraft carriers, and its purpose is essentially force protection. Aircraft carriers are huge machines that can be dangerous to get close to, as colliding with one will always end in the carrier’s favor. Additionally, the constant need for flight operations ensures the safety of both the pilots and crew. Essentially, a five-mile buffer serves to further protect the carrier from threats.

It’s almost unfathomable how large carriers like the Lincoln are, as it displaces over 100,000 tons of seawater. When moving, it can’t turn or stop on a dime, as its inertia is considerable. Getting too close means that a collision can be unavoidable, so the exclusion zone’s purpose is essentially all about safety. While you might see pictures showing tight formations with the Lincoln among the vessels that comprise its Carrier Strike Group, that’s not normal during combat and flight operations, as breaking the Five-Mile Rule is a big naval no-no … until it isn’t.

Violating the exclusion zone isn’t common, but it happens. Think of it more as a rule that’s allowed to be broken than an unwavering law because there are conditions that warrant its violation. Typically, an emergency, where someone falls overboard, an unforeseen issue that arises during combat or flight operation, or any emergent situation might compel an aircraft carrier’s captain to chuck the exclusion zone into the drink and move the carrier or another ship closer than normal. Everyone onboard is trained for these situations, but it’s nonetheless dangerous since exclusion zones are there for good reasons.

First and foremost, all U.S. aircraft carriers have a five-mile rule, and it’s all for the same reason. In 2000, the USS Cole (DDG-67) was attacked by a small vessel, causing widespread damage to its hull while killing 17 sailors and wounding almost 40 additional personnel. Since then, the U.S. Navy has been wary of small vessels, and a five-mile buffer ensures that none can get close to the carrier, as the Cole bombing proved the danger that explosive-laden craft could pose in potentially sinking an aircraft carrier. Another reason is flight operations, which is dangerous in and of itself.

The danger is elevated when an approaching aircraft has problems with onboard weapon systems or fuel. This can endanger surrounding ships, so the buffer offers added protection. Also for flight operations, the carrier must turn into the wind, requiring a large turn radius, making it imperative that its surrounding waters are devoid of any vessels. Air operations also require a bubble of airspace for recovering aircraft low on fuel, which the exclusion zone provides. The rule is only violated when combat action requires it, but under normal conditions, breaking the buffer can be hazardous.

Another aspect of carrier operations results in high-powered radar and electronic warfare radio signals. These can disrupt communications and electronics, especially with commercial, civilian vessels. Keeping them away limits potential damage to their navigation and communications equipment. The carrier is further protected by a series of submarines, cruisers, and guided-missile destroyer escorts, ensuring that no vessels stray too close. This ensures that everyone on or around an aircraft carrier like the Lincoln remains safe and secure.

Are you using your Apple Watch to its full potential? Whether you’ve owned an Apple Watch for years, answering texts and counting steps with the small device on your wrist, or you’re new to wearing a smart watch, it’s likely that there’s a trove of hidden features and tools that you’ve never used.

Apple currently sells three versions of its popular watch: the Series 11, the SE 3, and the Ultra 3. Each version offers different features, display sizes, and battery life, but no matter which version you own, there are hidden tools that you aren’t utilizing.

It’s common knowledge that you can answer texts and phone calls, tap to pay, and track your daily exercise routine, but all models of Apple Watch offer much more. Before you get too involved in picking a fun watch face and comfortable or stylish band, take the time to learn about all the functions your watch offers. After all, it’s a big investment, especially if you opted for the high-end Ultra 3. Here are some Apple Watch features that may have flown under your radar.

If you or a loved one snores loudly or wakes up after hours of sleep still feeling tired, you may be showing symptoms of sleep apnea, a disorder that causes pauses in your breathing while you’re asleep. It affects about 30 million Americans, and the risk increases as you age. Untreated sleep apnea can lead to other issues with your health, such as high blood pressure and cardiac rhythm disturbances. If you suspect you have sleep apnea, you should make an appointment with a health care provider, but while you wait to be seen by a doctor, your Apple Watch can help look for breathing disturbances.

The Sleep Apnea Notifications feature is available on Apple Watch Series 9 or later, Apple Watch Ultra 2, or Apple Watch SE 3. Your phone must be updated to the latest version of iOS, and you must also turn on the Sleep Tracker feature, found in the Health app on your phone. Then, wear your watch when you sleep for a minimum of 10 nights over a 30-day period, and the data will be analyzed every 30 days.

To turn on sleep apnea notifications, open the Health app on your iPhone, tap Search, then tap Respiratory, and set up Sleep Apnea Notifications. If you receive a notification, you can export the report as a PDF to share with your health care provider.

You’re in an important meeting, or mid-way through the first act of Hamilton, when you suddenly realize you forgot to silence notifications on your Apple Watch. The situation dictates stealth — you don’t want to interrupt your boss or draw attention to yourself in a dark theatre. Luckily, Apple offers several options that will allow you to quickly mute the notifications on your watch.

If you only remember that notifications are active because you receive an alert, such as an incoming phone call or text, you can quickly mute your that alert by covering your watch display with your hand for at least three seconds. You’ll feel a tap to notify you that you’ve successfully muted the notification. This option is typically on by default, but you can check by going to the Settings app on your watch and tapping Gestures.

You can also mute calls and dismiss notifications simply by quickly turning your wrist over and back again. Apple dubbed this the wrist flick gesture, and it’s supported on the SE 3, Series 9, Ultra 2, and later models. Again, this feature is turned on by default, and you can access it on the Settings app under Gestures.

If you’re hard of hearing, you have a loved one that is struggling with their hearing, or you’re simply struggling to hear clearly in an especially noisy situation, you can turn an Apple Watch into an accessibility aid using Live Listen. This feature uses the microphone on your iPhone to stream sound to your AirPods or MFi hearing devices. When paired with your Apple Watch, a transcription of the conversation also appears on your watch’s screen in real time.

You must use headphones or a hearing device with this feature, and Live Captions is not available in all languages or regions. Apple also warns that the accuracy of the captions may vary, so you should not rely on the transcription in an emergency situation. Live Listen is available with watchOS 26, which requires an Apple Watch Series 6 or SE 2 or later. It’s available on all models of the Apple Watch Ultra.

If you want to keep Live Listen easily accessible, add it to your watch’s Control Center. Once you’ve done that, simply place your phone near the source you want to listen to, such as a speaker or a lecturer. Open the Control Center on your watch and tap the Hearing Controls button. Scroll down to Live Listen, then you can start a session, or rewind a current session, view the live transcription, and stop the session.

We’ve all been there: you’re enjoying coffee at a cafe or watching a movie with friends and you hear a catchy tune that you simply love. You don’t know the name or the artist, and the song is fleeting – once it’s over, you may wait months to hear it again! In the days before smart phones, you’d have to describe the song to a friend or family member, hoping someone would recognize it from your clumsy humming. Eventually, music recognition apps like Shazam appeared on the scene, but you’d have to get your phone out and get the app going before the song ended.

If you own an Apple Watch, you no longer have to hum for friends or even get your phone out of your pocket. Apple now owns Shazam and has built music recognition directly into your watch, with no additional app necessary. Simply open Music Recognition on your watch by tapping the icon (a blue circle with a white, S-shaped logo) and tap again to initiate listening. Once it identifies the song, your watch will display both the title and artist. You can then see the song in Apple Music, add it to your library or playlist, and even see additional details about the song, such as the album and release date, all without pulling out your phone. If you forget to take note of a song that you heard days or weeks earlier, open the Music Recognition app on your watch and scroll down to see a history of identified songs. This capability is available on all watches running watchOS26.

Only about 23% of Americans are bilingual, or able to speak more than one language. Though much of the world speaks English, this can still be a challenge, especially when we travel — only about 360 million out of more than eight billion people speak English as their first language. If you frequently travel internationally, you may want to consider investing in an Apple Watch rather than relying on a translation app on your phone.

Apple’s live translation app allows users to translate both text and voice into a long list of supported languages. You can also download new languages so you can use them without an internet connection. Offline translation is available on the Apple Watch SE 3, Series 9 and newer, and Ultra 2 and newer models.

To use live translation, first open the Translate app on your Apple watch. Tap the language you want to translate your text or speech into. If you require verbal translation, tap the microphone button and say a phrase. Your watch will translate as you type or speak and translation will appear on your watch display. To play the audio translation, tap the play button. To automatically hear translations, tap More, then Play Translations. If it’s a common phrase that you’ll likely repeat throughout your day, you can save the translation as a favorite for easy access in the future. If a word has several meanings, your Apple Watch allows you to select the one you want, and you can also select feminine or masculine translations for words.