Didier Stevens

I use Phidgets USB interfaces and sensors for my home surveillance system. For the moment, my home surveillance system consists of Python programs running on a PC, but once I’m past the experimental phase, I will migrate this to a dedicated controller.
I particularly like the PIR motion sensor Phidget, because it gives you an analogue output. When there’s no movement, the output will be around 500. With movement, the output value will oscillate around 500, with larger amplitudes for larger movements.This allows me to differentiate between small and large movements, and to eliminate false positives which are only of a short duration. If you have to run wires for many meters to connect your analogue sensors to the interface module, I recommend you use shielded wires and connect the shield to the ground of the interface module. This allowed me to eliminate noise I had on the readings.

Another plus is that the sensors are powered by the interface module. So if you power the PC (or micro-controller) with a UPS, your home surveillance system will also operate when there’s a power cut.

To take pictures when an event occurs (like ringing the doorbell), I use an IP camera. Take a look at my vs.py program to see how that’s done.