How to Make a Smart Security Camera with a Raspberry Pi Zero

In this video, we use a Raspberry Pi Zero W and a Raspberry Pi camera to make a smart security camera! The camera uses object detection (with OpenCV) to send you an email whenever it sees an intruder. It also runs a webcam so you can view live video from the camera when you are away.
See how we built it, including our materials, code, and supplemental instructions, on Hackster.io: www.hackster.i...
Make sure to look out for our behind the scenes video! • Behind the Scenes: Sma...
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MATERIALS:
Raspberry Pi Zero Wireless × 1
Amazon Affiliate Link - goo.gl/Zsxm7k
Raspberry Pi Camera module × 1
Amazon Affiliate Link - goo.gl/4kR632
Check out the NoIR camera for night surveillance
Amazon Affiliate Link - goo.gl/fT7oL9
Raspberry Pi Zero Camera Cable x 1
Amazon Affiliate Link - goo.gl/pBVZb1
Micro-USB to USB Cable × 1
1/4" MDF Board × 1
90 Degree Angle Bracket × 1
Outdoor Mounting Tape × 1
M4 X 20mm Long Machine Screws × 2
M4 Hex Nuts × 2
M2.5 Machine Screws × 4
#8 X 3/4" Long Machine Screws × 1
#8 Hex Nut × 1
#8 Wing Nut × 1
MUSIC:
/ joakimkarud
Disclaimer
The methods shown in this video should be used
as a guide only.
HACKER SHACK ACCEPTS NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR
ACCIDENTS OR INCIDENTS ARISING FROM INDIVIDUALS
UNDERTAKING ANY OF THE TASKS DESCRIBED. IN
PARTICULAR, IF UNSURE YOU SHOULD ALWAYS CONTACT
A QUALIFIED TRADESMAN BEFORE PROCEEDING.

[@christopherbillington8965]

rather than dealing with MDF, I think I would mount it in an electrical box. The steel ones are modular, cheap and durable. Plus, you can mound an unwired outlet in it, which isn't the sort of thing most people would think twice about seeing.

[@FantasyLegacyGraphicArts]

Always test your electronic components to make sure they function properly before mounting them in a "permanent" way. Great video.

[@tannerlane9669]

How do you know he didn’t ?

[@GadgetAddict]

Pretty cool. Useful for those who just want something that basically works out of the box.

[@Chris_t0]

This is 2 years old but its worth point out... This is the complete opposite of "works out of the box".... Literally you even have to MAKE the box...

[@viertausend87]

@@Chris_t0 I scrolled through the internet in the office and suddenly I had to start laughing out loud. Best comment I read in a while!

[@ParodieHecker-mobile]

@@Chris_t0 Well, I think... That was the joke :D

[@circuitmasters5258]

Man Finally this project I have been trying to create for a minute...i need it LOL!

[@fabulousasia9848]

This is a great project. One of my students built something similar, except she used the project to feed her cat by sending emails to the DIY cat feeder! :)

[@theapricotbambino]

why am I just finding this youtube channel now!? I love you guys!

[@narpat007]

Excellent ! In the event of image detected, have you given thought to consider switching a light bulb via I/O pins in conjunction with a optoisolator or something like that ?

[@najawarus5693]

Best Tutorial for home made security cams

[@Ree1981]

Top 10 anime security cam tutorials

[@travis8753]

Or you could just buy a piece of PVC pipe, two end caps mount it in that and have a waterproof security camera.

[@SllyRbbtTrxR4Kids]

Travis lol, true, but to each their own. But i like your style better.

[@hellrazor35]

Personally I'd just get a plastic project box and drill a hole for the wires / camera. It would be flat and alot more water proof than MDF. This could be done alot easier.

[@Skyefuego]

that would look sleek. will definitely look better.

[@KapnKerfuffle]

Or by a hollow plastic skull or gargoyle or statue of a poster of Big Brother with a plastic electrical gang box behind the eyes.

[@axsdeny6692]

Wouldn't there be the potential for excess humidity to condense on the inside of the pipe thereby endangering the electronics? The MDF is more porous and wouldn't do this as much. Of course, if left outside, the MDF will fall apart eventually because it's garbage.

[@AndrewAlex92]

At 10:45, you go through allowing the insecure login. You should instead just generate an App Password support.google.com/accounts/answer/185833?hl=en and use that in place of your real password to begin with. You never want your Google password stored in plaintext anywhere.

[@hackershack]

+AndrewAlex92 good idea. I can update the docs tonight

[@hackershack]

updated

[@PeterMaloy]

Inkscape is awesome for drawing up templates. Free, runs on Windows, Mac, Linux. I use it for laying out all my laser cutter designs. Probably would have saved some time on this project.

[@DanielJohnHowTo]

The wood needs sealing and priming otherwise it will swell up and come loose etc , in case anybody is thinking of building this.

[@Adnegoo]

If i made that here in Brazil im pretty sure that they will steal my camera...

[@FerrariTeddy]

adriano sousa lol you gotta bolt that stuff down!

[@MikeMaher]

Make the housing blend into the surroundings. It doesn't have to be a black box..

[@nicT9]

If I put this up here in the USA, thieves will avoid wasting time at my house and probably drop a couple bucks in my lawn so I can go buy a better camera system.

[@hamptonford3066]

But what if they steal what it's bolted down to?

[@JoshSideris]

If there's one thing I' know about Brazil from watching videos on the internet, it's that there's no shortage of off-duty police officers to save the day.

[@grayhatfailure2428]

I'm 42, do I still need a parent to help me cut out the MDF?

[@draco5991rep]

Yes, even if you're 95 year old, you need a parent to help you cutting the MDF. Without a parent it won't work :(

[@bruh-gn5kc]

*Illegal without a parental guardians assistance and approval*

[@gzcwnk]

If you need to ask, yes.

[@timfoote6919]

yes

[@soorionyt]

@Cloudy_lotus no no no u have to do Orochimaru's reanimation jutsu from Naruto.

[@nanakeyks]

I love the use of multiple skills to get the job done.

[@cri8tor]

Great tutorial and appreciate the time and effort it takes to record, edit and upload. It's already been done, but please consider an updated version using Raspberry Pi 3 B+. Wyze data mines it's customers, can't be used with iPhone 4S and has no customer service number, so your hack is a great alternative. Cheers

[@Ricraftsla]

Thank you so much for the tutorial... How to fix "error sending email?"

[@GeniusFormat]

The error that I am getting is "Error sending email: "

[@AtenTetsu]

HI thanks for this great tutorial. But, may I know can I add alarm function when it detect the person?

[@aman.takher]

Hi there, Excellent video. One question is this setup is capable with Raspi 4 B?

[@Colaaah]

The best thing for a camera at the front door off Angel is, put a small led ligh. That lights the entrance, then the person looks at the light by curiosity and BAM a nice picture of the front view of there face lol. Talking from experience here too 😉

[@n0ukf]

A jigsaw is not the best thing to use to cut straight lines. You can get straighter lines with a plain handsaw. Before painting the MDF you can seal the surface with white or wood glue (or actual wood sealer) to seal it against excessive paint absorption, reducing the number of coats required for full coverage.

[@anamikamishra552]

That ruler used to draw the line was so precise & appropriate. By the way nice video

[@mikepage3379]

First off, great video. Can this work with a 3B+? Do you have an .stl for the case and not one out of mdf?

[@mfr8471]

What other kinds of Raspberries are supported / useable? How low can you go? Can you use a Raspberry 1 Mod. B as well? I have a Camera Rev 1.3. Will this be accurate enough?

[@imben77]

You have no idea now we'll timed this video is! I just got a pi zero camera kit (with suction cups for a window) and was researching the code when I found your video :)

[@yuvarajvelumani7760]

Nice video. Will it work with RPi-B+ and night vision camera during daytime and night?

[@ntc490]

What sort of frame rates are you getting? I was thinking the Pi Zero W would be tool slow for this application. The form factor and price are nice, though.

[@santoshceg]

Thanks a ton, guys! This is one project I've been working on recently. Next steps could be to detect the face on the camera and match with the voice and commands of the visitor to unlock the door if authorized. If you guys plan on doing something like this, it will be of great help.

[@rajatharry]

Hello bro

[@rajatharry]

I am planning to do the Same. Can You Please contact me

[@joybuendia6742]

It works, it's better if you read the instructions of the GitHub page, cause have many differences for python 3 or 2 , in my case I needed to changed the route because was different, in my case was: Smart-Security-Camera-Master/. Also I needed to download the VIM, just sudo apt-get install vim, and that's it

[@lleo9791]

This project is great, thank you for sharing!

[@snidelywhiplash]

Tool suggestion: For drilling the recess for the lens, a Forstner bit would be useful. They're capable of drilling flat-bottomed holes.

[@sebifisio]

Hey @HackerHouse, awesome project as always. I have a question, does this work with the NoIR camera board as well?? Would love to make this for the baby room... Cheers

[@joshhagen4182]

I wonder if you could have a Bluetooth connection or something and have multiple cameras 🤔 awesome video! Airsoft turret!!! That's sweet I wanted to build one of those In seventh grade. That was in 2010, makes me think I should try building one now!

[@alphawolf9371]

I am using elements of this tutorial for my own robot. I am using a Raspberry Pi Model B, a Raspberry Pi camera for face recognition, and some small servos to move parts of the robot.

[@datdoesthings]

Which OS should I install for my Raspberry Pi 3? Before I get into configuring the Camera when the code starts in the video. Thanks!

[@cxosposync9937]

Awesome Prj!!!

[@chihoeliew5970]

Is the code you provided only suitable for pi camera? Can I use other webcam instead?

[@Malcolmstuartcole]

Very user friendly vid..well done

[@bradwilliams5290]

was all of the raspberry pi stuff done on the pi zero?? if so how did you plug in the keyboard and mouse?

[@oldguardshouse1821]

Use a temporary usb OTG adapter

[@rocko0028]

Im coming from the wood building/car diy side of the youtubes but am I missing something? How or where does it get power from? And how is it connected to the home network? Does the raspi have a battery? Or WiFi? Can you get different camera sensors for different resolutions? Or some night vision sensors?

[@lorensiuswlt]

Nice tutorial...i have a plan to make security camera using raspberry pi like this. Can we take picture/snapshoot while the camera detecting motion so we can upload itu via http to server or send it along with the email attachment?

[@roid1510]

This is cool. Is it possible to setup a record function that saves the footage somewhere secure? And make a remote you use to switch on the camera when youre going out?

[@murderdoggg]

Nice work with the jigsaw dude. I am surprised you don't have one with a shop-vac attachment.

[@dheerajs2838]

accidentally stumble upon your channel .. you guys are doing amazing job :)

[@arielomc]

Excelent project guys!! I imagine the v2.0 where you install night vision to this security camera.

[@bobliao1665]

Hi,can i reforward this video for another site without commercial purpose?

[@Tech_Code127-76]

Thanks! Now I could no when my parents come into my room😂

[@niler3019]

You could easily become a teacher! Thanks for the video!

[@syafiqazainal1691]

hi can you help pls me why mine has sign in and it said your connection to this site is not private? i m using raspberry pi 4b

[@smilelagoonOfficial]

Hey for booting should we need Ethernet or Wi-Fi will work please reply

[@RT-eb6vo]

Well done guys, as always.

[@voodoochili12]

Can multiple cameras be used on the same network? Any tutorials or resources available for that?

[@novechotango5033]

Good day, Is it possible to merge or connect this project to another project which is Smartphone Connected Home Door Lock as one project? Does the raspberry pi 3 can run them simultaneously? Thank you

[@engineeringtechniques6179]

3d printing camera housing would be a great idea.

[@nottelling2976]

Will this integrate with Camera apps on phones such as IPWebcam? I've set up my Pi2's as cameras using WebEyeOS but I wasn't too happy with the performance.

[@hxdx6950]

What all componets and how much would it cost! Haven't watched the video yet please reply

[@riffrafftracey]

Hi great vid how about a vid on the esp32 from start to finish thank you Ha

[@ChristophPuetz]

Can you run this on solar + powerbank the way it is?

[@TheAnthonywildman]

Christoph Puetz Yes, as long as it can supply 2 Amps you're good.

[@didikdarmawanali4867]

hello i am from Indonesia, can i replace the camera with webcam HP Webcam HD-2300 ?

[@draco5991rep]

Not with the code, showed here, and you would (most likely) need an Adapter for the Cameraconnector to your Webcam.

[@lukaszgudewicz6442]

Awesome project. Will definitely give it a try.

[@ducsue751]

@5:40 Wait. Lucky supermarket store still exist? This was my childhood go to market. Still the same font used.

[@mnbvcxzzxcvbnm]

I'm going to do it. Excited. Thank you guys.

[@ashishkumar-gr9hk]

the browser takes long time to fetch the video feed, is it an internet speed problem or frame rate prob?

[@BillRoberts5]

How much power does this setup require? If I wanted to build one of these and make it solar powered, how big of a solar panel would be needed?

[@Music-lv8xf]

how about visual studio app and not in the browser?? do you have any tutorial on how can i get the video coming from raspberry pi to windows app build in vs c#?

[@mihirpatil8843]

For night vision, get the NOir camera and some ir LEDs

[@andreamitchell4758]

but why do this instead of using motion eye OS? are there any advantages over motion eye O? whcih is the better way to go what the pros and cons of each method and are there any better OS solution in the same vein as motion eye OS?

[@Darkwell0071]

May I suggest a parts list with prices. Source if available.

[@siddarthpandian5963]

I can access the webcam on the local network, but how do we access it over the internet? From outside the private network?

[@hackershack]

Ngrok

[@ahmetenesozturk1902]

The system detects fine but I have a question, what will happen if it sees a photo ? Can it differenciate "it's picture"

[@joseabrahamkuqueb6639]

Hi, i have a question. i gonna make this proyect but i need to know if I can use a raspberry pi 3?

[@kehindea]

Brilliant video

[@danielrivera275]

how did you open the code? what program did you use? Can somebody help please😥

[@Rahulus_]

can this be done on the raspberry pi b+ 1st gen

[@blakelong6149]

Any suggestions on how to save short video files or images to a usb or sd card once motion has been detected? Also suggestion on using a usb camera instead of a raspberry pi camera?

[@jakeb8]

How do you make this more secure network wise and do you know the code to arm and disarm this so that way I am not getting an alert every time someone passes by it when I am at home???

[@jim7smith]

I liked the video instructions and materials list and code available, I did not like the background music. Why is it necessary. I just need the instructions. I am sure that a lot of other hearing challenged viewers feel the same.

[@vinkand6393]

Thank you guys I works for me but how to access cam for a different network from anywhere. Pls help me...

[@halilcnar6029]

Hello, You should edit your routers routing table. An example below Public IP x.y.z.t internal IP a.b.c.d You should route your public ip's some port to internal ip's some port x.y.z.t:9999 -> a.b.c.d:8888 then on a public WiFi, if you write your xyzt:9999 to the browser's address bar, you will see your camera. But it is not secure. Anyone that knows your routing table(camera port?) and public IP(may be static or dynamic ip) can see your house:)

[@danielchisica6486]

Can be made this camera with a Raspberry Pi 3 Model B?

[@lukerohl2266]

How would I edit the webpage for the camera server?

[@mr-nonsense]

That's a great "precision" ruler

[@techtam3505]

Hey guys i would like to say one thing that is instead of human detection you can add facial detection using tensorflow or the same open cv and you can make a smart door lock.

[@SheltonDCruz]

Thanks Davis!

[@iamParvezKhan25]

Thanks gor share entire project.. I will tty to make this. For home security. Thanks again! Love. 😍😘

[@fergyc]

Just go to a shop and buy a cheap dummy CCTV box, makes a great enclosure

[@ayeayre]

I was thinking there's so many better options than MDF, the first thing that came to mind was a PVC pipe. But a dummy security camera? Nice!.. Now that's what I call 'Thinking outside the box'

[@barthonhoff5547]

I used a cheap fake cctv housing from china, works really well. Used the blinking LED to check if their was power, powered from the 3.3 v connection of the raspberry

[@bigchief334]

genius idea!!

[@Cloudycloudguy]

Where can I buy the precision ruler?

[@fredkloster7895]

harbor Freight www.harborfreight.com/6-in-digital-caliper-with-sae-and-metric-fractional-readings-62569.html

[@Cloudycloudguy]

Fred Kloster , no the one used at 1:45

[@simonemastroianni1985]

ah.

[@xaviershowrn462]

ahahahahah

[@keepchrispy8589]

online!

[@sakshamsharma2098]

Hi I just wanted to make a small sized video camera how can I make it?

[@jamesshaw3910]

So can this camera feed be viewed when not on the same network?

[@amaremahtsentu8467]

Hi this is nice bro....I made a counting and detecting code ( ssd mobilenet model). but if i have imutils, flask,picamera[array],Flask-BasicAuth==0.2.0 all installed ,I am not expected to install requirement.txt? and one more thing can i use the mail.py script for my own detection and count result?

[@kennedymwangi60]

nice one i loved it

[@michaelashitey7930]

Good work done

[@DavidStOnge]

Great tutorial ! Is it normal that I do not see the green square in live feed when there is a detection. I only see it in the pictures sent by email. Also, there is a red square in the thumbnail of your video. How do you activate it ? thanks !

[@hackershack]

Yeah, it helps increase the FPS on the live feed.

[@DavidStOnge]

Hey thanks for the quick reply :) Is there a way to enable the squares in the live feed if I do not care about fps ?

[@adnanmursyidin1274]

Awesome tutorial, how if i using lower version rasberry pi camera, like rasberry pi camera modul rev 1.3 5MP?

[@armaansoni6906]

yeah same question!

[@mohamadalsadi7584]

I need replacing Pi camera with webcam via USB please what is edit code to do that

[@lyssalud6781]

how much light does the camera need though to produce sufficient images

[@praveengs1393]

Can i send the image or stream to Adafruits MQTT rather than on a local web page?

[@frans5163]

instead of moving object, can i use this for face recognition? i mean when the camera recognize unknown face then sent gmail

[@areebansari583]

Hey, can you help making an app that can stream the video ? any hint would help

[@moj8945]

Have you made an update on this project using a raspberry pi 4?

[@prafullsharma4296]

Hi, I followed all of your instructions and I can clearly view livestream form my pi on the server, however the openCV doesn't seem to be working (I downloaded that too) and no green rectangles are drawn around any moving objects. Is there something I missed? It throws an error: Sending mail... Error sending email:

[@prafullsharma4296]

kaz Kaif yeh turns out I had 2 factor authentication on my email so I made another one specifically for this project. Cheers!

[@saikumarreddy9182]

@@prafullsharma4296 Will you pls tell me what user name and password I should enter after running falsk server on browser?? Pls do reply yarr