The jury is still out on smart door locks and now connected door bells. While I have a Lockitron on order I’m still skeptical about it’s overall utility. Before these initial locks (Lockitron, August, Keva) even launch the next generation is already emerging. Goji adds a Camera and I suspect others will follow. The Goji video covers the more obvious use cases. What’s perhaps worth thinking about is where software upgrades might take a product like Goji in the future. For example:
- Will these smart locks be able to detect motion? What are the battery life implications? Will they scan for “radios” – and thus unidentified phones?
- How important is the smart doorbell? Shouldn’t the lock be the doorbell? Why isn’t it all in one? Doorbot makes more sense to me as it could be placed on the door and recognizes the importance of pointing the video. Where should doorbells be placed? With geo-fencing solutions perhaps they should be completely redefined using other sensors that are invisible.
- Adding voice and communications features may be important depending on where the item is installed, or what screening process is desired. Use cases that are still to emerge are “shared” entries. For example will these “door bells” manage a shared apartment entry? How can they manage security for a group / collection of users within a community building?
- At which point will the camera turn on? Can a user “stream” and record from the camera? How does it respond to courier package drops?
- How will we feel about streaming all coming and goings or even picture taking to a “cloud” service? (Can’t say I’m that excited by that.) What’s the delay on pictures? What is the time lapse / lag to broadcast on these devices?
- There are many other products that can enter this ecosystem from insurance to courier deliveries, local police or fire. We may even go so far as to “broadcast” for a service. Example plumber or electrician. Today we certainly wouldn’t be comfortable letting many of these into our house sight unseen. Tomorrow may be another story.
Gabriel Bestard-Ribas, the CEO of Goji says that the camera feature was really important to users, and believes that it will help people get comfortable with the idea of a granting access electronically to their homes instead of the traditional key. To help assuage concerns Goji also has a 24/7 call center set up to handle access issues, lost keys or other worries. That, too, might be why the lock is so much more expensive.
via Goji joins the connected lock parade, adding Wi-Fi and Bluetooth as a twist — Tech News and Analysis.
When someone rings the doorbell, it notifies you and you can talk to them from your phone. They can talk to you via the doorbell. And if someone knocks you can activate the doorbell camera from the app running on your handset and see who’s there.
via Ding dong ditch is dead. Say hello to 2 connected doorbells — Tech News and Analysis.
iDoorCam™ features a day and night vision camera, speaker, microphone and motion sensor. It connects with your home’s WiFI and alerts you when someone rings your doorbell. You can chose to ignore the call or answer it to see, hear and speak with your visitor. You can see and hear them…they can hear you.