Build Your Own DIY Surveillance System with Raspberry Pi

Installing a surveillance system can be a great way to protect your property and belongings. It allows you to see who is at your home, record footage of any wrongdoings for the police and insurance company, and also acts as a deterrent, as many would-be criminals are more likely to move to another home that doesn’t have cameras. While there are plenty of great systems available for purchase, it can also be a lot of fun to create one from scratch.

Before You Begin

Before you get started, it’s a good idea to gather your supplies. For this project, you will need a Raspberry Pi and a few other items, which are listed below.

• Raspberry Pi (preferably Raspberry Pi 4 for better performance)

• MicroSD card (at least 16GB) with Raspberry Pi OS installed

• Raspberry Pi Camera Module or a compatible USB webcam

• Power supply for the Raspberry Pi

• Case for the Raspberry Pi (optional but recommended for protection)

• Ethernet cable or Wi-Fi dongle for network connectivity

• Monitor, keyboard, and mouse for initial setup

Set Up Your Raspberry Pi

Begin by installing the Raspberry Pi OS on your Micro SD card, which you can get from the official Raspberry Pi website, and use tools like Balena Etcher to install it onto the card.

Insert the MicroSD card into the Raspberry Pi, connect it to a monitor, keyboard, and mouse, and power it up. Follow the on-screen instructions to complete the initial setup.

Open the terminal and update your software packages to ensure everything is up to date.

Install MotionEyeOS

Mpton Eye is a popular program for using a Raspberry Pi to create a home security system with many great features you can use. To get it, visit the MotionEyeOS GitHub page, download the appropriate option for your Raspberry Pi model, and use the Balena Etcher to put it onto a MicroSD card.

Insert the MicroSD card into your Raspberry Pi and power it up. MotionEyeOS will boot and configure itself automatically.

Configure MotionEyeOS

Connect your Raspberry Pi to your network via Ethernet or Wi-Fi.

On a computer connected to the same network, open a web browser and enter the IP address of your Raspberry Pi to see the MotionEyeOS web interface.

Click on the “Add Camera” button and select your camera type. Then, follow the instructions to configure the camera.

Configure storage options to save recorded videos. You can use the MicroSD card, an external USB drive, or a network-attached storage (NAS) device.

Set up motion detection to start recording when motion is detected. This feature is part of Motion Eye and will help you save storage space by recording only when something is happening.

Configure email or SMS notifications to alert you when motion is detected, which can also help you keep track of when they occur.

Optimize and Secure Your System

Change the default admin password in MotionEyeOS to enhance security.

If you want to monitor the camera from outside your local network, you will need to configure remote access.

Tweak the camera resolution and frame rate settings to balance performance and storage needs. Higher resolutions and frame rates provide better video quality but consume more storage and processing power.

Test Your Surveillance System

Ensure that you can view the live feed from your camera(s) through the MotionEyeOS web interface when using the live stream.

Test the motion activation by moving in the camera’s field of view. Your system should start recording, and you should get a notification if everything is working correctly.

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