is a senior reviewer with over twenty years of experience. She covers smart home, IoT, and connected tech, and has written previously for Wirecutter, Wired, Dwell, BBC, and US News.
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It looks like someone may have finally done the smart door right. Doma Home, a new company from the creators of the August smart lock, has announced its first product: the Doma Intelligent Door. A motorized smart door that automatically opens as you approach and closes after you enter, the Doma door also features built-in sensors, a video doorbell, a keypad, a smart lock, and a smart home control panel.
Doma founders Jason Johnson and Yves Béhar have designed their own doors and partnered with manufacturers to integrate the Doma technology platform into standard doors. Everything is made to order, and pricing starts at around $6,000. You can sign up on Doma’s website to be notified when they’re available, which should be next summer.
The Doma Home platform uses ultra-wideband (UWB) tech and stereoscopic IR facial recognition to automatically unlock and open the door when an authorized user approaches using an integrated open / close mechanism — a first for a residential door. Embedded mmWave sensors track the exact location of people or pets as they pass through, helping ensure the door doesn’t close at the wrong time. It also features a clutch safety mechanism that stops it from moving if it senses resistance.
This is one of Doma’s Yves Béhar-designed doors. The Doma tech can be integrated into any door offered by its manufacturing partners. Image: Doma Home
A circular external touchscreen includes sensors for facial recognition, a 4K video doorbell, and an LED status light. It can also display a welcome message and double as a keypad for the integrated lock, which can be an electronic deadbolt or European-style multipoint lock, and either keyed or keyless.
Inside, a second, larger touchscreen serves as the main control panel for the Doma system and also doubles as a view screen for the video doorbell. The door is designed to be hardwired and includes a built-in 21,000mAh backup battery for the motorized opener, lock, doorbell, and control panels. It supports power over Ethernet (PoE) via a built-in RJ45 receptacle, as well as Wi-Fi.
The door features a touchscreen that doubles as a keypad for the lock and has facial recognition technology built in. Image: Doma Home The motorized mechanism is built into the hinge and is invisible when the door is closed. Image: Doma Home
In an interview with The Verge, Johnson says Doma made sure the door operates exactly like a standard door in every way; the technology is an enhancement, not a replacement. Johnson says all facial recognition data is stored and encrypted locally, and they “keep as much processing as possible inside your house” to support privacy, security, and integration with other systems, and to reduce latency.
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