Alarm.com has announced a new device for anyone concerned about visitors removing COVID-19 from their doorbell. Instead of using a button, the Touchless Video doorbell is designed to ring when the camera detects visitors on your doormat. Alarm.com claims that it is the ‘first commercial video doorbell to ring without requiring contact’, and that its goal is to ‘reduce health risks and make home visits and deliveries safer for all.’
In what appears to be an acknowledgment quite a confusing way to ring a doorbell, there are instructions on how to push the device to the front. Alarm.com also sells a doormat accessory for the doorbell, which instructs visitors to stand so that the doorbell can see it properly. Given how confused we found most delivery drivers through Yale’s Smart Delivery Box, there’s a chance this touchless doorbell could create similar confusion.
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22227215/VDB770_doorbell_090220_touchless_cover_03.jpg)
:format(webp):no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/22227217/Video_Doorbell_Product_Image2.jpg)
When Alarm.com’s doorbell detects someone, it plays a bell in the house, sends a notification to your phone, and starts recording a video recording. You can see visitors talking and talking through the doorbell, and it can also be integrated with the rest of the alarm.com security system Alarm.com in a home so that it can activate other devices such as lights when someone is detected. The camera is 1080p HDR and is also equipped with infrared night vision.
It is admirable that the delivery managers will become the most important people to take advantage of a touchless doorbell, which has become vital lifelines for people who do not have to leave their homes. But it is not clear how much help a tactless doorbell can actually be.
The latest advice from the US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) is that the transmission of surfaces (such as a doorbell that is infected by the virus and then touches your face) is not considered a common way to COVID-19 does not distribute. ‘ Instead, it is suspected that COVID-19s usually transmit from person to person when they are in close contact with each other, something you do not need to avoid a touchless smart doorbell.
Alarm.com’s Touchless Video Doorbell is now available through the company’s network of installation partners. The company did not want to be asked about exactly how much the system costs, but said the doorbell itself is ‘under $ 200’.