How can we transform an old mobile phone or tablet into a "security eye "?

How can we transform an old mobile phone or tablet into a "security eye "?

 

What should I do if I want to keep an eye on home security without enough money or DIY skills to install a camera?

Now, as long as you have an extra smartphone or tablet, or even an old device that has been occupying the corner of the drawer for a long time. Forget the unpleasantness of the shortage of funds. Prepare to drill a hole in your house!

There are a series of Android applications that can turn their devices into security cameras and provide first-hand information about home intruders to people in other places in time.

Old mobile phone Avatar camera: Nothing new

Previously, there was a demonstration of how to use an old smart phone to create a security monitoring network, whether your old device runs Android, iOS, Windows, or Blackberry, A large number of applications can still be installed, which also saves unnecessary costs.

You can have your own security monitor as long as a suitable app can convert your device into an IP Network Camera. Once the camera detects an exception, the application you select will send you a Threat alert.

Here we will introduce Salient Eye, a powerful application that does not require a host to process information and images. This frees you from occupying valuable hard disk space.

But wait, this is not a camera.

Salient Eye, which can be downloaded free of charge from the Google store (iOS version is being designed, see www.salient-eye.com for details), cannot provide the IP Network Camera service provided by your normal security camera application. The difference is that Salient Eye sends an alarm only when it detects the activity of an object. At this time, the image is stored in the device, and then sent to your specified email address or text message to the mobile phone number.

 

Salient Eye can be compatible with Android smartphones and tablets. It can run for 10 hours at low power consumption on a mobile phone and the application is still active when the display is turned off. You can see the detection objects marked with red in the figure. Once these things change, the detector will trigger an alarm and automatically send an email.

Use Salient Eye to create a smart phone security Eye

 

After running the program, you can directly go to the screen setting menu. here you need to set a password to be removed and select a camera for running the program. In the instance, I select the front camera.

You also need to add an email address. If you want to receive a text message, you only need to add the phone number text message settings. It is worth noting that you can also set network disconnection notifications, low-energy consumption, and low-power settings. However, the most important thing is to set up an emergency page: once an intruder is found, the image will be uploaded. Click the check box. The page is automatically created.

Salient Eye video tutorial

On the main interface, click the email icon to direct the app to send a notification of intruders by email.

Once Salient Eye detects the motion of an object, it triggers an alarm and simultaneously uploads the image of the intruder. You can view images through a link wherever you are, after receiving an email or text message. Very practical!

 

The Salient Eye Remote application allows you to remotely check what happened from another device. This service is also free of charge.

To use the remote program, You need to log on to the same account as the first device (security camera), which can be used to remotely control and view photos, rather than simply waiting for email or SMS notifications.

Other security camera applications

Salient Eye is a powerful application, but it is not the only choice:

AtHome Camera: provides remote monitoring, two-way conversations, booking records, and multi-platform support under 3G/4G or Wi-Fi conditions. Smart Home Security WardenCam: This application provides the same features and is free of charge. Its selling point is to support cloud storage, especially Dropbox.

Smart phone security camera applications that utilize remote servers and cloud storage are very useful. When you need to pay close attention to a room, pet, or child, these applications are worth further understanding. Don't forget, you can not only build a home security monitoring system using an old mobile phone. You can also link the information collected by the webcam to the PC desktop, or even the Raspberry Pi (Raspberry Pi ).