Semester: Fall 2024 Role: Embedded Systems Developer Technologies: Raspberry Pi, C++, Python, OpenCV, SMTP, Linux Cron Jobs, Shell Scripting

Project Summary

Designed and built a motion detection security system using a Raspberry Pi and camera module. This project aimed to simulate a low-cost, smart surveillance system capable of detecting movement, recording short video clips, and emailing alerts in real-time.

System Architecture

• Raspberry Pi 4 as the core device
• USB Webcam connected via USB interface
• Motion Detection using OpenCV's background subtraction and frame differencing
• Video Capture in short .mp4 format clips
• Email Notifications using Python’s smtplib with Gmail’s SMTP server

Implementation Details

Motion Detection Logic (Python & OpenCV)

• Captured live video frames and compared consecutive frames using grayscale delta detection
• If frame delta exceeded a sensitivity threshold, motion was detected
• Upon detection:
  • Timestamped a log entry
  • Recorded a 10-second video

Video Recording (Python)

• Recorded a .mp4 video using OpenCV’s VideoWriter module
• Saved video files to a local /recordings directory with timestamped filenames