Forget the peephole. “Smart” doorbells are giving homeowners a brand new way to see who’s knocking on their door. The basic feature behind this new development is the ability to wirelessly connect your doorbell and a video camera to your smartphone so you can see who is at your door without having to get up and answer it.

The newest technology under development features facial recognition that will allow you to store contacts into your system and play pre-recorded messages to specific visitors. The technology available now allows you to:

• See and speak with visitors over an intercom system via your smartphone.
• Customize access for each smartphone in your home.
• Be notified when someone is approaching the door, before they ring the doorbell, via a motion detector.
• Take and store pictures and view streaming video.
• Wirelessly unlock your door.
• Receive a notification on your phone when someone rings your doorbell and then see and speak with them, even if you are at work or on vacation.