Doorbells are there for a reason; to let you know that someone is at your door. However, many a times they turn into a nuisance. You run to the door only to find out that it is an unwanted visitor or some salesperson. Such scenarios led to the development of i-Bell technology by a london based company. The i-Bell technology is a Wi-Fi video doorbell that is capable of pairing up with your smartphone/tablet/PC.
This particular gadget makes use of camera and Internet to let the owner know who is at the door even if he is not at home. The gadget is currently part of a Kickstarter campaign with an aim to raise $50,000.The bell will be fixed to the door like a conventional bell at about eye height.
The visitors will see a securely fixed bell that will have a button for them to push, upon pressing the button, the camera comes into action and will call the device that the i-Bell has been paired with along with the video feed and audio. The user will be able to take the call and speak to the person who is at the doorstep. Say, if you are not at home and the delivery guy drops by, you could simply tell him to go drop it with the neighbors. For a guest, you could tell them where you are and they could join you there or you could tell them to hold on as you will be back right away.
The camera is not two-way so the visitors won’t be able to see you while you talk to them. The gadget will be launched this November for a price of $307 and shall be sporting a 1080p HC camera, a built-in speaker and a microphone. The i-Bell will also allow users to see a guest without talking to them; allowing them to decide whether they want to answer the doorbell or not. The gadget will be fixed with brackets which will ensure that the grip is good enough and the device will be safe.
What if we miss a call from the gadget? The gadget will take a picture of the guest and upload it to the cloud storage along with a voicemail message that can be checked upon later. In words of Graham Kershberg, Co-Founder of the company; ‘There’s nothing quite like i-Bell on the market right now. It’s going to revolutionize daily life for a lot of individuals and businesses. Arranging deliveries around working hours or getting an unexpected visit from a relative who gets no answer at the door can really disrupt an individual’s plans. But now it’s possible to communicate directly with the person ringing the doorbell. Fun to use and practical, i-Bell makes it possible to answer the door from any corner of the world, whether that’s five minutes down the road on the school run or from a sun lounger overseas on a long awaited holiday.’
A pretty cool new doorbell, isn’t it?
Podrug, who is based in Cape Cod, Mass., is a big fan of duct tape, which he says can be a lifesaver for patching things. He carries cigarette lighters in his car, even though he doesn’t smoke, in case he needs to generate fire. He also stocks a multitool kit, masks that keep out pollutants and thermal blankets in his car, a grab-and-go bag with three days of necessities in the house, and a shelter inside the house with two weeks of supplies.