![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/burglar_detector_thumbnail.jpg?resize=1200%2C675&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nThis project shows how to take photos with a Raspberry Pi when motion is detected. It can be used as a burglar detector, to take wildlife photos or in other applications. We’ll be using a Raspberry Pi V2 camera and the code will be written in Python programming language.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Note:<\/strong> this project is an excerpt from our “20 Easy Raspberry Pi Projects<\/a>” book. If you want to build electronics projects with the Raspberry\u00a0Pi using Python, we recommend reading\u00a0our Raspberry Pi Projects book<\/a>. It’s available in digital and paperback version.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n You might also like:\u00a0What\u2019s the Best Raspberry Pi Camera For Your Project?<\/a><\/p>\n The circuit for this project consists of a PIR motion sensor, a pushbutton, and a camera module you\u2019ll connect to your Pi. The pushbutton is an extra component that allows you to stop the Python script.<\/p>\n To program the Raspberry Pi we’ll be using a Python script and the built-in picamera<\/em> library, which makes it very simple to control the camera. To control the GPIOs we’ll be using the gpiozero<\/em> library that contains classes for most popular components like pushbuttons, LEDs, motion sensor, etc.<\/p>\n You need to enable your Raspberry Pi\u2019s camera software before you can use the camera module. In the desktop environment, go to the main menu and select Preferences\u00a0<\/strong>>\u00a0Raspberry<\/strong> Pi Configuration<\/strong>. Select the Interfaces\u00a0<\/b>tab and a window as shown below should open.<\/p>\n Alternatively, in the Terminal window, type the following command:<\/p>\n You should see the Raspberry Pi software configuration tool. Select the Interfacing Options<\/strong>:<\/p>\n Enable the camera and reboot your Pi:<\/p>\n With the camera software enabled, shut down your Pi and then connect the camera to the CSI port. Make sure the camera is connected with the blue letters facing up and oriented as shown in the following figure. Then start up your Pi again.<\/p>\n With the camera connected, follow the next\u00a0 schematic diagram to wire the rest of the circuit.<\/p>\n Note:<\/strong> the PIR motion sensor we’re using in this project should be powered using the 5V pin. Other sensors required 3.3V to operate. Read your sensor’s specifications before wiring the circuit.<\/p>\n To control the camera, you\u2019ll use the built-in picamera<\/em> library. Here\u2019s an overview of what the code should do:<\/p>\n Create a new file using Python 3 (IDLE) and copy the following code. Then, save the code in the Desktop folder with the following name: burglar_detector.py<\/em>.<\/p>\n View raw code<\/a><\/p>\n First you import the necessary libraries; as we\u2019ve said, the program uses the picamera<\/em> library to control the camera. The gpiozero<\/em> library contains classes to control the pushbutton and the motion sensor: Button<\/em> and MotionSensor<\/em>. The sleep<\/em> method allows us to deal with delays, and the pause<\/em>\u00a0method is used to handle interrupts.<\/p>\n Then, you create objects to refer to the pushbutton, the PIR motion sensor, and the camera. The pushbutton is on GPIO 2 and the motion sensor on GPIO 4.<\/p>\n Then, initialize the camera with camera.start_preview()<\/em>.<\/p>\n Depending on how your camera is oriented, you might also need to rotate it 180 degrees so that it doesn\u2019t take the photos upside down.<\/p>\n Next, you initialize an i<\/em> variable that starts at 0.<\/p>\n Then, we create the stop_camera()<\/em> and the take_photo()<\/em> functions that will be called later in the code.<\/p>\n The take_photo()<\/em> function, will use the i<\/em> variable to count and number the images, incrementing the number in the filename by one with each picture taken.<\/p>\n To take and save a photo you use the camera.capture()<\/em> method, specifying the directory you want to save the image to inside the parentheses. In this case, we\u2019re saving the images in the Desktop folder and naming the images image_%s.jpg<\/em>, where %s<\/em> is replaced with the number we incremented earlier in i<\/em>.<\/p>\n If you want to save your files to a different folder, replace this directory with the path to your chosen folder. You then impose a 10-second delay, meaning the camera takes photos at 10-second intervals for as long as the PIR sensor detects movement. Feel free to increase or decrease the delay time, but be careful to not overload the Pi with tons of images by making the delay time too small.<\/p>\n The stop_camera()<\/em> function stops the camera with the camera.stop_preview()<\/em> method.<\/p>\n This function stops the camera preview and exits the program. The exit()<\/em> function pops up a window asking if you want to close the program; to close it, just click OK.<\/p>\n Finally, you define that when the pushbutton is pressed, the cameras stops.<\/p>\n Finally, you tell the camera to take a photo by triggering the take_photo()<\/em> function when motion is detected.<\/p>\n The pause()<\/em> at the end of the code keeps your program running so that interrupts can be detected.<\/p>\n If your’re using Python IDLE to write your code, press F5<\/strong> or go to Run<\/strong> > Run Module<\/strong> to run the script. While the script is running, you should see a preview of what the camera sees on your screen. To shut down the camera preview, press the pushbutton and click OK<\/strong> in the window that pops up.<\/p>\n Alternatively, in the Terminal window you can type:<\/p>\n Congratulations, you project is ready to detect motion and take some photos. You can place this project in a strategic place and come back later to check any saved photos. The following figure shows a photo taken by this project.<\/p>\n Using cameras with the Raspberry Pi is an easy task and can be applied to a wide variety of projects. The picamera<\/em> and gpiozero<\/em> libraries give you an easy way to control the camera and GPIOs with the Raspberry Pi.<\/p>\n We have other projects with cameras and Raspberry Pi that you may like:<\/p>\n This is an excerpt from our book “20 Easy Raspberry Pi Projects<\/a>“. For an overview of our book, you can watch the video below.<\/p>\nPrerequisites<\/h2>\n
\n
Parts Required<\/h2>\n
\n
Project Overview<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/motion-detector-with-photo-capture-750.jpg?resize=750%2C499&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nEnable the Camera<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Figure-13-3.png?resize=508%2C429&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\npi@raspberry:~ $ sudo raspi-config<\/strong><\/pre>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/Interfacing-options.png?resize=959%2C270&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/enable-camera-raspi-config.png?resize=960%2C270&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nConnect the Camera<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/08\/connectcamera-1.jpg?resize=516%2C406&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nBuild the Circuit<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/pir-motion-sensor-with-raspberry-pi.jpg?resize=750%2C628&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\n\n
Writing the Script<\/h2>\n
\n
Entering the script<\/h3>\n
#Project 13 - Burglar Detector With Photo Capture\n#latest code updates available at: https:\/\/github.com\/RuiSantosdotme\/RaspberryPiProject\n#project updates at: https:\/\/nostarch.com\/RaspberryPiProject\n\n#import the necessary packages\nfrom gpiozero import Button, MotionSensor\nfrom picamera import PiCamera\nfrom time import sleep\nfrom signal import pause\n\n#create objects that refer to a button,\n#a motion sensor and the PiCamera\nbutton = Button(2)\npir = MotionSensor(4)\ncamera = PiCamera()\n\n#start the camera\ncamera.rotation = 180\ncamera.start_preview()\n\n#image image names\ni = 0\n\n#stop the camera when the pushbutton is pressed\ndef stop_camera():\n camera.stop_preview()\n #exit the program\n exit()\n\n#take photo when motion is detected\ndef take_photo():\n global i\n i = i + 1\n camera.capture('\/home\/pi\/Desktop\/image_%s.jpg' % i)\n print('A photo has been taken')\n sleep(10)\n\n#assign a function that runs when the button is pressed\nbutton.when_pressed = stop_camera\n#assign a function that runs when motion is detected\npir.when_motion = take_photo\n\npause()\n<\/code><\/pre>\n\tHow the code works<\/h3>\n
from gpiozero import Button, MotionSensor\r\nfrom picamera import PiCamera\r\nfrom time import sleep\r\nfrom signal import pause<\/pre>\n
button = Button(2)\r\npir = MotionSensor(4)\r\ncamera = PiCamera()<\/pre>\n
camera.start_preview()<\/pre>\n
camera.rotation = 180<\/pre>\n
i = 0<\/pre>\n
def take_photo():\r\n global i\r\n i = i + 1\r\n camera.capture('\/home\/pi\/Desktop\/image_%s.jpg' % i)\r\n print('A photo has been taken')\r\n sleep(10)<\/pre>\ndef stop_camera():\r\n camera.stop_preview()\r\n #exit the program\r\n exit()<\/pre>\n
button.when_pressed = stop_camera<\/pre>\n
pir.when_motion = take_photo<\/pre>\n
Demonstration<\/h2>\n
pi@raspberrypi:~ $ python3 burglar_detector.py<\/strong><\/pre>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/randomnerdtutorials.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/motion-detector-with-photo-burglar.jpg?resize=750%2C600&quality=100&strip=all&ssl=1\")
<\/p>\nWrapping Up<\/h2>\n
\n