Earlier Build · Experiment
DWAR
A QR-based digital doorbell.
An earlier build: replace the physical doorbell with a QR code that connects a visitor directly to a resident through a real-time call. A smaller experiment in removing hardware from an everyday interaction.
- Role
- Builder
- Focus
- React NativeNode.jsWebRTCProduct
DWAR
A QR-based digital doorbell.
The problem
A doorbell is dumb hardware bolted to a wall. It rings a fixed location, reaches no one if you're not home, and gives a visitor no way to reach you beyond hoping you're inside.
The hypothesis
If the doorbell becomes a QR code instead of a device, a visitor could reach the actual resident on their phone, wherever they are, through a real-time call.
The product
A sticker with a QR code at the door, a mobile app for residents, and a WebRTC calling layer connecting the two. Scan, call, answer from anywhere.
How it works
The QR resolves to a resident endpoint; a WebRTC session connects visitor and resident in real time over the app and a Node.js signalling backend.
What I learned
A clever technical replacement for familiar hardware still has to beat a habit. Removing a device is only valuable if the new flow is clearly better at the exact moment someone is standing at a door.
It was the right kind of experiment: small, shippable, and honest about what it did and didn't prove.
More work
Face-authenticated payments for campuses.
AI-powered smart glasses for intelligence in the physical world.