Simple visitor calling for elderly and independent living

Answering the door can be the most stressful part of the day. Getting up quickly is a fall risk. Opening the door to an unexpected caller is a genuine safety concern, and doorstep pressure selling still targets older households. Traditional doorbells offer no information at all: the bell rings, and the only way to find out who is there is to open the door.

Camera doorbells help, but they introduce their own hurdles — an app to manage, a battery to recharge every few weeks, notifications to interpret and a Wi-Fi connection to keep working. For many families, the device ends up being managed remotely by an adult child, which is not always practical.

DoorVi keeps the interaction as close as possible to something already familiar: a phone call. The resident is not asked to learn a new interface at the moment a stranger is standing outside. They answer a call, see the person's face and decide what to do next.

Because the sign has no electronics to maintain, there is nothing that quietly stops working. A dead battery at the wrong moment is not a possibility.

• Fix the sign next to the door, at a height a visitor can comfortably reach.
• A visitor scans the QR code with their phone camera, or taps the sign if their phone supports NFC.
• A secure video call opens in the visitor's browser and rings the registered phone.
• The resident, or a nominated family member, answers and sees the visitor.
• The visitor never sees inside the home and never learns the phone number.

• No need to hurry to the door to find out who is there.
• Answer from a chair, from bed, or from the garden.
• A family member or carer can take the call on the resident's behalf.
• Nothing to charge and nothing to replace in the sign.
• No visitor app, so couriers, carers and district nurses can all use it immediately.
• One-time purchase with no monthly subscription to manage or cancel.

Suitable situations

• Independent living where family live some distance away.
• Bungalows and houses where the door is far from the sitting room.
• Sheltered and retirement housing, subject to scheme rules.
• Households with regular carer, delivery or health visits.
• Residents with reduced mobility, hearing difficulty or anxiety about unexpected callers.

The sign has no camera and no microphone of its own, so nothing is watching or listening at the door between calls. During a call the video is one way — the resident sees the visitor, and the visitor sees nothing of the home or the person inside. The visitor never receives the resident's phone number.

The standard sign is fitted with adhesive backing and takes a couple of minutes, so a family member can set it up on a normal visit. There is no wiring, no drilling and no electrician. Registration is done once from a phone, and can be completed by whoever will be answering the calls.