Alarm.com's touchless video doorbell is built for the COVID era

Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, a lot of people have turned to delivery services to get food and other essential items. If you own a video doorbell, that means it’s probably got a lot of use and become a hotbed for germs and the virus. So it was only a matter of time before a company developed a solution to that problem.

Alarm.com announced a new doorbell today. The company claims it’s the first commercially available video doorbell you can activate without touching the device itself. If you’re visiting someone with a Touchless Video Doorbell, all you have to do to ring the chime is move into a virtual ground zone defined by the homeowner. In most instances, that means standing on the doormat.

Rather than rely on motion detection, the doorbell includes software Alarm.com claims can quickly and accurately detect when there’s a person at your doorstep. Writing on the front of the doorbell tells visitors they don’t need to touch the device, but Alarm.com and its partners will sell a separate doormat that has more visible instructions on where someone needs to stand. In any case, there’s no need for a visitor to touch the device and no need for you to get out and disinfect it.

Outside of its touchless functionality, the Touchless Video Doorbell has all the features you would expect from one of Ring’s or Nest’s doorbells. The built-in camera features a wide 150-degree field of view and it captures footage in Full HD with support for HDR. It also has infrared night vision for when there’s someone at your door in the evening. Two-way audio allows you to talk to visitors even when you’re not at home, and you can access both live and recorded footage through the Alarm.com mobile app and website. It also includes a built-in heater to keep it functioning through the cold winter months.

You’ll be able to buy the Touchless Video Doorbell through Alarm.com and the company’s home security partners for $200.