Ever have that strange feeling that somebody is breaking into your workshop? Well, Hackaday.io user [Kenny] has whipped up a tutorial on how to scratch that itch by turning a spare Raspberry Pi you may have kicking around into a security camera system that notifies you at a moment’s notice.
The system works like this: a Raspberry Pi 3 and connected camera module remain vigilant, constantly scanning for motion and recording video. If motion is detected, it immediately snaps and sends a picture to the user’s mobile via PushBullet, then begins recording video. If there is still movement after a few seconds, the process repeats until the area is once again devoid of motion. This also permits a two-way communication with your Pi security system, so you can check in on the live feed whenever you feel the urge.
To get this working for you — assuming that your Pi has been recently updated — setup requires setting up a PushBullet account as well as installing it on your mobile and linking it with an API. For your Pi, you can go ahead with setting up some Python PushBullet libraries, installing FFmpeg, Pi Camera Notifier, and others. Or, install the ready-to-go image [Kenny] has prepared. He gets into the nitty-gritty of the code in his guide, so check that out or watch the tutorial video after the break.
You could also miniaturize the process with a Pi Zero, and even turn your peephole into an ever-watching eye.
Spider walks on a lens: false alarms.
Push $#!T. I will use my own.
wr703n with old webcam still cheaper than the pi wifi is reliable and it lasts longer on a 5v pack
I did something similar last year http://shazsterblog.blogspot.com/2016/03/home-security-using-raspberry-pi-web.html
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6F4osFo3BI&w=560&h=315%5D
Motioneyeos or properly configured OpenWRT on a modern wireless router. Considsr recycling a camera from a laptop computer. Tiny USB cameras can be very fun…
I second the notion of MotioneyeOS on a Pi for this. I have one set up on a 5000MaH Anker battery so if I lose power it still records to the SD and is easy to hide on a book shelf.
I’ve done something similar, though I used a PIR sensor (reduces false alarms vs. video detection) and the built-in bluetooth to look for the presence of my phone (as a way of suppressing alarms), Code is here: https://forums.adafruit.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=113740&start=15#p598670
Ugh way too much “Cloud”/”Social Media” type crap at first glance. (NO I’m not going to enable layers and layers of SCRIPTING just to see another Hackaday(dot)io page to dig further.)
Possible alternatives where YOU the end-user have more control and (hopefully) stay out of the clutches of “Cloud” crap: Most solutions below are Raspberry Pi based but are fairly easily migrated/copied to other platforms:
Note: Web-search the terms below for links. This is standard stuff so I won’t provide embedded links here to avoid MODERATION delays here on HaD (which by-the-way I’m OK with).
1. MotionEye and MotionEyeOS
2. DietPi with MotionEye, Nice pre-built solution and DietPi as a base goes easy by default on native SDCard writes by default for longevity. Of-course you can direct the data to wherever you want, local or otherwise. There are plenty of other add-ins in DietPi for secure communications (OpenVPN, etc.)
3. DietPiCam, Another DietPi add-in with fairly extensive camera options beyond Motioneye. Hack galore from the there.
There are probably lots more solutions out there – right HaD readers?