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Sensors and Home Automation => Home automation => Topic started by: BrownChiLD on January 10, 2017, 05:38:27 am

Title: PROBLEM: Make IP camera take picture while door is open (offline solution)
Post by: BrownChiLD on January 10, 2017, 05:38:27 am

Hi guys

As stated in the subject, i would like an ip camera pointing at the door but only take pictures every 5 seconds while the door is open.
Pictures will be sent to folder on the PC

Any ideas how to achieve this?

I was thinking a simple rule from Almond like:

WHILE DOOR is OPEN TELL CAMERA to TAKE PICTURES every 5 seconds

First part: "WHILE DOOR is OPEN " is not a problem
Second part: "TELL CAMERA to TAKE PICTURES every 5 seconds" - well this is the missing link.

Z-wave cams? regular IP cams? but how?

Title: Re: PROBLEM: Make IP camera take picture while door is open (offline solution)
Post by: fillibar on January 10, 2017, 08:34:46 am

To my knowledge there is not a camera to do that directly with. However, most of the ones that can detect motion can be set to take a set of pictures (or video) so that might work for you.

Another workaround would be if the camera has a trigger input that can be used to tell it to take a picture. In that case, you could use a relay module of one sort or another and tell that to trigger. Ex:
IF door open THEN relay on delay 5 seconds relay off

That should keep triggering the camera as long as the door is opening.

Title: Re: PROBLEM: Make IP camera take picture while door is open (offline solution)
Post by: BrownChiLD on January 11, 2017, 03:47:22 am

hmmm, i was hoping for a ready-to-used more polished solution  rather than DIY :( but ok

how about this...

Is there a way for our almond hub to trigger or call an HTTP link while it is in "open" state?
(again locally only no internet )

what im thinking of doing is have the IP cam upload images constantly to an FTP server (a computer on the network) and then develop a php script there.

If almond+ can call my php script when door opens then the PHP script can pickup all images during that time and moved to another folder called "triggered"

So the big question can almond do this somehow?

i can have my php server listening on a computer  on the network and almond just needs to call it
http://192.168.1.10/blah.php

Title: Re: PROBLEM: Make IP camera take picture while door is open (offline solution)
Post by: fillibar on January 11, 2017, 08:13:23 am

At this time I do not know of any way that they Almond could contact another device via HTTP. It does have a WebSockets capability, but that would require the camera to stay connected to the Almond to monitor the WebSocket information about the door. Or another device that could act as a bridge (ex: a networked Arduino or Raspberry Pi could monitor the WebSocket then send the HTTP command to the camera).

Title: Re: PROBLEM: Make IP camera take picture while door is open (offline solution)
Post by: BrownChiLD on January 12, 2017, 07:46:48 am

hmm.. i see, i kinda thought this wouldn't be a native feature .. it was a long shot..

Hmmmm.. will look for work arounds