Raspberry Pi: Turn the popular single-board computer into a cheap and simple surveillance camera system

As we have reported previously, there are multiple options to utilise the Raspberry Pi as a surveillance system. A new project posted on Hackster.io is one of the simple ways to use a Raspberry Pi in such a manner, though. 

Published by sarful, the project calls for a Raspberry Pi 4 Model B, a PIR motion sensor and a compatible camera module. Sarful has outlined the full list of required components in their build guide, which you can read here. The Raspberry Pi Camera Module or High Quality Camera Module should be compatible. The project also integrates a 5V buzzer for when it sees something moving. Sarful has also provided a pre-made Python script.

When built, the project will send a picture to a designated email address when it senses motion. This not only provides a backup of any images that are saved, but also ensures that you have copies of the images if the project is somehow destroyed.

If you are after a more refined surveillance camera using the Raspberry Pi, then it would be worth considering the HKCam. Based on a Raspberry Pi Zero W, the HKCam is another open-source solution but one that uses HomeKit instead of Python scripts.