Video doorbells may have been novel a few years ago, but in 2017, it is more surprising to see one of these devices without a camera than with one. So what’s an innovative company to do to stand out from the crowd? Don’t just offer video doorbells — offer video doorbells with facial recognition.
That is what Hanwha Techwin America (formerly Samsung Techwin America) is doing with the Thursday, September 21 launch of its Wisenet-SmartCam D1, heralded as the first such doorbell with face-recognition alerts. Because it’s not enough to simply be shown someone’s face anymore — you deserve to know who it is without even looking, too.
Thanks to the Wisenet 5 chipset, this smart doorbell promises to detect, capture, and crop an image of a visitor’s face for you to observe. As you use the doorbell, you can assign certain individuals as an “interested face,” and give them a name. From there, anytime the doorbell sees someone you know, you receive a notification in your Wisenet SmartCam+ mobile app, alerting you that a familiar person is at the door. If the doorbell doesn’t recognize the face, you will be notified as to the visit of an unidentified visitor, perhaps urging you to exercise caution.
Moreover, the doorbell claims to be able to distinguish between human faces and other distractions, which means you won’t get a notification every time an animal is caught in the Wisenet’s field of vision or a car passes by your house. There is also an Abnormal Sound Detection feature that will send you an audio alert anytime the doorbell hears sirens, screaming, or glass breaking, adding an additional layer of security to the device.
“The D1 is the latest in Hanwha Techwin’s suite of home security products, providing another way for people to easily monitor and ensure the safety of their homes, children, and pets,” Richard Simone, Hanwha Techwin America vice president of sales and marketing, said in a statement. “The advanced technology in our Wisenet 5 chipset enables the doorbell with face recognition, human detection, and Abnormal Sound Detection, giving people peace of mind when they’re away from their homes.”
Of course, the doorbell comes with all the now-standard features of such a smart device, including a built-in microphone and speaker for two-way talk, live-view on demand, a high-performance wide-dynamic range for color balance in backlit situations, and 2D/3D noise reduction to improve images taken in low-light conditions. The camera of the doorbell promises 1080p full HD streaming, 150-degree field of view, and dual Wi-Fi band.
You will be able to buy the Wisenet-SmartCam D1 from the Home Shopping Network on Sunday, September 24 for $249, and will also be made available on Amazon and Sam’s Club in October.
