Josh Hendrickson
If the news is anything to go by, porch pirates are a real problem today. Thanks to Amazon and the rise of online shopping, more packages are left at the doorstep than ever before. The $400 Parcel Guard smart mailbox promises to protect those packages until you get home. And now it has a few new features to make the product even more enticing.
A Lockbox For Your…Well, Boxes
The Parcel Guard smart mailbox is a pretty simple concept. It looks somewhat like a filing cabinet with two doors, some buttons, and a camera. When a delivery person arrives, they can open the top door and slide your package inside. The Parcel Guard will lower the package to the bottom compartment, which is locked. Then you’ll get a notification that the package arrived.
If the package happens to be larger, the delivery person can use a one-use code to access the bottom compartment and slide the box in. But that begs the question—how do they get the combination? And how do they know to put the package in the smart mailbox in the first place? That’s where the new features come into play.
Two-Way Talking and Recorded Messages
The Parcel Guard hardware already includes speakers and a microphone. Now thanks to an update, you can have a two-way conversation with anyone that approaches the smart mailbox. If they can’t fit the package in the top compartment, you can create a code through the Parcel Guard app (available on iOS and Android) then give it to the delivery person.
And for all the times you aren’t paying attention, you can set up a pre-recorded message that plays when someone approaches the box. A quick, “please deposit packages in the top compartment” is all you need to get the concept across.
Since the smart mailbox isn’t reliant on lock and key, any delivery service can theoretically use it—that’s an improvement over competitors that are still trying to work out agreements for access.
Best of all, you can buy the Parcel Guard from Amazon right now.
