Rumor: Amazon is working on doorbell that gives delivery person access to home

Amazon is said to be working on a smart doorbell that gives a delivery person one-time access to deliver a package in the absence of the resident. The store would also like to deliver packages in the trunk of customers’ cars.

CNBC reports that on the basis of anonymous sources. Two people have told the American channel about the development of the doorbell. The accessory could be used for Amazon’s Prime delivery service, which promises fast delivery. If a customer is not at home, this poses a problem, because a package is often left unattended.

It is not clear how Amazon’s doorbell will work exactly, but it could be a bell that gives a delivery person one-time access with a code. It is unclear how far Amazon is with the development and whether there are concrete plans for the doorbell.

According to CNBC, Amazon is also in talks with the company Phrame, which makes ‘smart license plates’. Phrame’s product is a secure box that surrounds the license plate and contains the car keys. Users can unlock the box with their smartphone and also give others permission to do so. Amazon could use that technique to let deliverers put packages in the trunk of a customer’s car. The two companies declined to comment.

In 2015, Amazon Germany already conducted a trial with the delivery of packages in the trunk of customers’ cars. The webshop did this in collaboration with DHL and Audi and only worked with certain cars that could be opened without a key. The delivery person was given a code to open the trunk once. Customers had to have their cars tracked with GPS, so that the delivery person knew where to go. The outcome of that trial is unknown, but the experiment does not appear to have been followed up.

Phrame’s system