Forget Facial Recognition, This Doorbell Can Take Your Guests' Temperature
It makes good sense that how we view home has been entirely transformed ever since our entire worlds became curbed to the confines our of houses.
As for the future of home design, versatility and multi-functionality will likely outweigh traditional modes of living. Optimized room layouts, outdoor spaces, and revolutionary design promoting daily health and hygiene will be staples for the post-pandemic home life.
2020 ushered in a fervent market for video doorbell cameras, namely brands like Ring, Google Nest, and SimpliSafe. Video surveillance via doorbells has been the latest and greatest way to keep an eye on packages without opening the front door, leave messages for loved ones without entering their homes, or even to chat with neighbors through your smartphone. Most of these doorbell cameras offer similar features: live-streaming surveillance, mobile accessibility, motion detection, audio communication, and recording capabilities. Yet on January 15, 2021, Ettie Smart Video Doorbell made its debut as a new competitor for doorbell cameras already on shelves.
A Consumer Electronics Show 2021 Innovation Award Honoree, Ettie uses an infrared temperature sensor to detect whether or not your guests are exhibiting a healthy temperature before they set foot into your home. Equipped with a visitor log that uses pictures of each guest to keep track of their arrival and departure, it also keeps a headcount and alerts homeowners when they’ve exceeded a safe social capacity. Expected to be priced in the $300 ballpark, this fever-fearing feature sets the doorbell to nearly double the price of other popular video doorbell models like the Ring Peephole Cam or the Arlo doorbell.
But as the COVID-19 vaccine makes its way, slowly but surely, across the United States, is the launch of precautionary pandemic tech a tad too late? Or is its eleventh hour timing actually setting a precedent for a future that prioritizes public health?
Meredith Kucik is a 2021 graduate of UNCW with a B.F.A in creative writing alongside a certificate in publishing.