I find my local Amazon and InPost lockers invaluable and use them frequently. They’re much more convenient and reassuring than relying on a video doorbell.
In theory, a doorbell allows me to speak with delivery drivers and other callers whether I’m in the shower, the back garden or the other side of the world. In practice, I tend to miss the notifications, or they arrive at inconvenient moments, and the visitor has given up before I’ve had the chance to instruct them exactly where to hide my precious parcel.
What I want is a Ring-type doorbell with an accompanying security box that unlocks automatically on the driver’s approach and quickly secures itself after my parcel’s delivery. I know delivery boxes are available but they tend to rely on mechanical or electronic pin numbers, and the unreliable communication of instructions. Friends who’ve used them tell me they haven’t been very secure and delivery drivers either don’t know how, or don’t have the time to use them.
A company like Amazon could do a proper job. They’re used to geofencing through the features built into the Ring app and have much of the infrastructure already. As soon as my parcel was near, the box would be aware of its location, primed for the imminent delivery, and it would only unlock at the very last moment. The courier would be alerted to the box by their app and know exactly where to deliver the parcel. The box itself could be securely attached to a wall.
Amazon has tried hard over the years to solve the riddle of how to be in while you’re out. Most of its attempts have revolved around the Amazon Key concept. This is essentially an app-controlled electronic smart lock that can share access to various areas of your life with the company’s couriers.
Launched back in 2017, the original idea was to let the courier into your home through such a lock on your front door. Perhaps unsurprisingly this did not prove popular, with around 70% of Amazon customers reportedly unwilling to use it.
Amazon’s related idea of having parcels delivered to your car boot was tried in the US in 2018. It relied on you having a ‘connected car’, compatible with Amazon Key, which the courier could unlock.
Unfortunately, relatively few cars were supported, mainly Volvo and GM models. You also had to subscribe to the car manufacturers’ rather costly connectivity services and the facility only worked in certain areas. The service was abandoned in 2021.
My proposal would avoid privacy intrusions. Couriers would quickly become familiar with it. Other security tech companies, like Arlo and Eufy, would soon want to develop similar boxes or, even better, they could join in. The system could become fully cross-platform so that everyone from Amazon themselves to Royal Mail could use it.
Amazon already provides digital services for the world’s businesses through its Amazon Web Services cloud computing division and this could be an excellent addition to its reach. It’s not just deliveries that would work better, the individual locker would help secure collections as well. It would provide the ultimate in safety and convenience, and your video doorbell would still be there for a chat if needed.
