Inovelli has started development of a new White Series mmWave switch, bringing presence sensing to its Matter-over-Thread lineup.
The switch extends Inovelli’s existing Project Linus design, already available in its Zigbee and Z-Wave product lines, into the Matter-enabled White Series. It also builds on Inovelli’s work around Matter binding, an area where the company has gone further than many Matter switch makers.
The project is still at an early stage. Inovelli posted the first requirements and has again opened much of the development process to its community, including feature requests, beta testing and regular project updates.
Expanding Matter lineup
White Series is Inovelli’s Matter-over-Thread counterpart to its established Zigbee Blue Series and Z-Wave Red Series.
It started with the 2-in-1 switch, now sold as the White Series Smart Dimmer, which became Inovelli’s first Thread and Matter wall switch. The company has since expanded the lineup with an on/off switch with humidity sensing, a dedicated fan switch and a fan/light canopy module.
The mmWave model fills one of the more obvious gaps between White Series and Inovelli’s other platforms. Blue and Red Series already include Project Linus presence-sensing dimmers, while White Series has so far focused mainly on conventional load control.
Bringing Project Linus to Matter over Thread
The new VTM32-SN will follow Inovelli’s existing Linus switches while moving connectivity to Matter over Thread.
Like its existing Smart Dimmer, the switch is intended to operate in either dimmer or on/off mode. Inovelli is targeting power monitoring, smart bulb mode, configurable ramp rates and dimming limits, leading- and trailing-edge dimming, OTA updates and multi-way installations.
The new device would also be one of the few that work without a neutral wire, a technically challenging design for optimizing Matter-over-Thread devices.
The current hardware target includes a responsive center-rest paddle, configuration and favorite button, fully addressable RGB LED bar and built-in 24 GHz mmWave sensing. Inovelli is also investigating an integrated lux sensor.
Radar can detect smaller movements than conventional PIR, making it better at maintaining occupancy when someone is relatively still, though false detection is common in complex room settings.
Higher-frequency radar, such as the 60 GHz system in Aqara’s FP400, can offer finer spatial resolution, while 24 GHz typically favors range and penetration. For Inovelli’s Project Linus, however, the goal is different: its wall-dimmer design prioritizes reliable room occupancy over detailed spatial or multi-person tracking.
Matter binding moves forward
Inovelli is already one of the relatively few Matter switch makers actively supporting device-to-device binding. Its recent White Series beta firmware has expanded that work with group binding, allowing a switch to target a Matter group rather than maintaining individual bindings to every light.
Matter 1.6.1 brings a newer Groupcast architecture intended to make multicast group control more complete and easier for devices and controllers to manage. The official Matter 1.6.1 SDK includes the Groupcast cluster along with updated access-control and group-key handling.
There is no indication yet that Project Linus will ship with Matter 1.6.1 or support the new Groupcast cluster. Considering the legacy cluster will be deprecated since the latest Matter spec, we are likely to see the new implementation at some point.
Home Assistant Green
In the meanwhile, Home Assistant is working on Matter 1.6.1 compatibility and native Groupcast support. If Inovelli adopts the newer implementation before launch, it could eventually provide a cleaner way for one wall switch to control multiple Matter lights at once. For now, however, that remains a possible direction rather than a confirmed feature.
Timeline and availablity
Inovelli has completed the initial product requirements and R&D analysis, with hardware design and firmware development now underway.
The company plans to build 15 beta samples and test them from Nov. through Dec. 20. Certification including Matter is currently scheduled between Dec. and Feb. 1, 2027, followed by production preparation.
Mass production is currently targeted for March 20, although Inovelli cautions that both features and dates can change as development progresses.
As with many Inovelli projects, development is taking place publicly. You can submit ideas through the company’s forum, follow regular project updates and volunteer for beta testing. Inovelli says contributors whose ideas make it into the product may receive credit and a free device.
That process is particularly relevant for a product combining mmWave sensing with Matter binding, since both depend heavily on real-world tuning rather than specifications alone.
As of the press time, no price or preorder date has been announced as of now.
(Source: Inovelli, Aqara, Connectivity Standards Alliance, GitHub/Open Home Foundation; Image: Inovelli).
