WATCHBOT INTRUDER DETECTION Using Pi Camera And VIDEO STORAGE With Telegram Bot

Vigilance of remote locations on your mobile is an assurance for many individuals across the globe.

- DR GEETALI SAHA, PARTH SHAH

In our last article, we shared information about intrusion detection using a PIR sensor and how to store captured images on Firebase, an open source Google Cloud tool. This time, we have included video storage using the Telegram app. Our proposed setup is illustrated in Fig. 1.

Here, a PIR sensor connected to a Raspberry Pi checks for intruders in a room using a motion sensor. If it detects human movement, it captures frames from the camera and sends them to your Telegram bot. Fig. 1 depicts the author's prototype of the observation zone where slight hand movements activate the Pi camera, recording a 5-second video. The bill of materials for this bot is listed in Table 1.

EFY note. Additionally, you will need a 16GB SD card and a 5V 2A DC power source if you already have a Raspberry Pi.

Connection

Fig. 2 shows the circuit diagram of intruder detection using a Pi camera and video storage with the Telegram bot. It is built around Raspberry Pi 4B+ (MOD1), a PIR motion sensor (S1), Pi Camera, and a few jumper wires.

Installation and setup

We have used Python for programming. Before coding, you need to configure Raspbian OS on the Raspberry Pi and install the necessary Pi camera library files.

To use a Raspberry Pi camera (connected via a ribbon cable), first enable the camera interface in the Raspberry Pi configuration settings.

You can do this through the terminal using the following commands:
$ sudo apt-get install python-picamera
$ sudo apt-get installpython3-picamera

You can also enable the camera interface using the Raspberry Pi configuration menu: Main Menu →Select Preferences Raspberry Pi Configuration. Then, go to the Interfaces tab and enable the camera. Fig. 3 illustrates the Raspberry Pi configuration menu, and Fig. 4 shows the camera enabling configuration.