Inspiration
## Inspiration
I created Verify Home because misdeliveries are an everyday problem I have experienced from the delivery-driver side. GPS may bring you near a house, but you can still wonder: Am I at the right property? The right door? The right household, especially when several people or families live on the same property?
Some customers prefer contactless delivery and wait until the driver leaves before collecting their order. I wanted to respect that preference while helping drivers find the intended drop-off location without needing someone to come outside.
Those uncertainties become harder at night, when house numbers, entrances, and pathways can be difficult to see. My idea was to give drivers a property QR code they could scan to check the destination and read clear instructions before leaving a package.
Verify Home grew from a desire to help customers and drivers feel more confident about the delivery process. Looking ahead, I would like to explore whether better location guidance and permission-based security features could support safer nighttime deliveries—and potentially contribute to extended-hour or around-the-clock delivery services. Those are future possibilities, rather than capabilities established by the current prototype.
How I built it
I developed and tested a browser-based prototype with AI-assisted coding, using printed QR signs and phone-based testing.
The Ring integration uses a temporary Ring Playground token to retrieve available devices. My recorded demonstration shows a successful connection reporting one device and saving the selected Playground Device as a test pairing for the property.
Challenges
Challenges included camera access across different devices and browsers, scanning small QR codes, phone-location accuracy, and making the screen readable during filming.
Another important challenge was clearly distinguishing working features from future ideas. The demonstrated Ring integration is device discovery and test pairing. It does not activate a Ring camera. The saved delivery photo comes from the phone.
One of my biggest challenges was stepping into technology from a background mostly in hands-on labor. Much of this work was unfamiliar, and I did not always understand what I was doing at first. But this opportunity gave me a chance to learn, experiment, and experience a different kind of work. I found it interesting and exciting to see an everyday problem become an idea I could actually build and test.
What I learned
I learned how much real-world testing matters. Camera behavior, lighting, QR size, location accuracy, and clear instructions all affect whether a delivery workflow is usable.
I also learned to describe a prototype accurately: a successful connection test is useful progress, while camera activation and independent delivery evidence require additional work.
This experience taught me how little I knew about the work behind the technology I use every day. Coming from hands-on labor, I had never fully appreciated how much thought, effort, and patience it takes to make an app work. You gain a different understanding when you walk even a small part of the road that developers walk. I have only begun scratching the surface, but it has broadened my perspective and deepened my respect for their work. Without AI assistance, I do not think I would have been able to build and test this idea or experience this kind of learning.
What is next
I want to improve scanning reliability, strengthen property enrollment and permissions, and explore Ring event and camera features with appropriate authorization.
Beyond delivery verification, I see opportunities for Verify Home to help neighbors protect and care for one another.
Good Samaritan neighborhood assistance
A future opt-in Good Samaritan feature could let residents request help and alert participating neighbors about a suspected theft, intruder, or hit-and-run. An incident may move beyond one property, so nearby residents could receive a warning and choose to check their cameras or share relevant footage.
Where supported by Ring’s APIs and each owner’s explicit permissions, I would explore coordinated camera or light responses. Residents would control participation and access. Clear confirmation steps, limited alerts, and abuse reporting would help reduce false alarms and protect privacy.
Emergency location assistance
A person walking in an unfamiliar neighborhood could scan a participating property’s Verify Home QR code to view its registered address and location, helping them explain where assistance is needed.
A future emergency option could help the person call emergency services or send a confirmed assistance request with that location to designated contacts. It would need safeguards for outdated or moved QR signs, accidental activation, false reports, and failed notifications. It would not promise emergency dispatch without a supported, tested integration.
These are future concepts, not features demonstrated in the current prototype. My larger goal is to turn a practical location check into a useful way for people to deliver, assist, and look out for one another.
Community discovery and local businesses
Another future possibility is an optional QR scavenger hunt where people discover digital collectibles, clues, or rewards at participating locations. Local businesses could offer promotions or discounts, giving people a fun way to explore their community and discover nearby shops. Participation would require permission, with clear boundaries to prevent trespassing and keep games and advertising separate from delivery verification and emergency assistance.
The current prototype does not establish property ownership, verify a recipient’s identity, or independently prove that a delivery occurred.
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