ECE434 Security Camera

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thumb‎ Embedded Linux Class by Mark A. Yoder

Team members: Seun Ladipo and Ryan Oberlitner

Grading Template


00 Executive Summary
00 Installation Instructions 
00 User Instructions
00 Highlights
00 Theory of Operation
00 Work Breakdown
00 Future Work
00 Conclusions
00 Demo
00 Late
Comments: I'm looking forward to seeing this.

Score:  10/100

(Inline Comment)

Executive Summary

Picture that summarizes the project.

For this project we created a security camera that can be used to monitor a determined area. This is implemented with a BeagleBone Black and a PlayStation eye as the main components. We also have a manual operation mode as well as a live video feed that goes directly to a Blynk controller. Alongside this, we are also registering motion and sending a recording to a repo whenever this motion is registered. The use of this project is to, whether manually or automatically, monitor a defined area similar to surveillance cameras that are used in many places around the world today. This could serve as a replacement to a Google Nest Camera( priced at about $199 while our solution is priced at the price of around $90 total.


For packaging we decided to keep is very simple as the only device we have is the camera itself alongside the BeagleBone board. We did use a custom 3D printed housing to hold the camera in place with the servo.

Installation Instructions

Give step by step instructions on how to install your project.

Github: You'll need to create a Blynk app and set up an ifttt application. There are tutorials for each online, and both are free (you'll need to make an account). Ifttt is used for notifications, and uses webhooks as the trigger for the event (I used it to trigger emails with gmail). The Blynk app is used to control the program. For full functionality, you will need to add the following widgets: Video Streaming, Joystick, and 4 buttons (don't worry, you shouldn't have to buy more energy). The first button turns on and off Motion, and should be connected to virtual pin 0. The second button turns on and off video streaming, and is connected to virtual pin 1. The third button turns on ifttt notifications, and is connected to virtual pin 2. The fourth button filters the events that cause ifttt notifications (usually one movement caused multiple triggers), and is connected to virtual pin 3. All 4 buttons should be set to be switches. The video streaming widget should be set to the system's IP address, port 8081 (format: Finally, the Joystick should be set to virtual pins 4 and 5.

Next, the program has to be authorized for Blynk and ifttt. The Blynk authentification key (sent via email) should be copied into the 'AUTH' variable. The ifttt key (found in settings) should be copied into the 'key' variable.

Now it should be ready to go, just make sure the system is connected to the internet, run the code with './security.js' (without the quotes), and you should see the device go online in the blynk app.

User Instructions



Here is where you brag about what your project can do.

Include a YouTube demo the audio description.

Theory of Operation

Give a high-level overview of the structure of your software. Are you using GStreamer? Show a diagram of the pipeline. Are you running multiple tasks? Show what they do and how they interact. We are using javascript, so all of our code is event-based. When the program starts running, it first connects to Blynk, where it can be controlled from a smartphone. Using different options in the Blynk app, the program can be instructed to start or stop Motion, stream video, and send email notifications of motion detection via ifttt.

Work Breakdown

List the major tasks in your project and who did what.


Future Work

Suggest additional things that could be done with this project.



thumb‎ Embedded Linux Class by Mark A. Yoder