Da Bell

This is a project made for CS578 (Wireless Networks) class at San Diego State.

Da Bell is a custom-made Ring Doorbell alternative that is low-lost and provides the same basic functionality, but without the audio and speaking capability. It runs on Raspberry Pi devices and hence, uses dependencies that are not available on Windows. Follow the installation section to get your Raspberry Pi device up and running.

Table of Contents

• Capabilities
• Installation
• iOS App
• Improvements

Capabilities:

Da Bell can stream the camera feed from a Raspberry Pi device to a public facing server that can be accessed via a link. The link is uploaded to firebase database so that the iOS app can show the feed in a webview. In addition, if the doorbell is pressed, a photo and a 3 second video is taken and uploaded to firebase storage so that it can be viewed on the iOS app while simultaneously, a message is sent to the Da Bell owner that the doorbell was pressed and a photo is attached for them to view. Lastly, motion detection is utilized so that when motion is detected, the camera feed is saved locally on the Raspberry Pi and it can be viewed by the owner via the iOS app without the need for downloading.

Installation:

OS:

• Bullseye 32-Bit
• Da Bell only works on the 32-Bit Raspberry Pi OS

Hardware Requirements:

• Camera
  • RPi Cam Web Interface requires a PiCamera.
• Button
  • Connect Raspberry Pi GPIO Pin 17 to button.

1. Download dependencies

# make sure are in Da-Bell directory
# create virtual environment to hold all dependencies
python -m venv cs578
# activate virtual environment
. cs578/Scripts/activate
# install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt
# low chance there might be more imports 
# than in requirements.txt so take that 
# into consideration when running code

2. Download RPi-Cam-Web-Interface by following Installation Instructions

• Set settings to default during set-up.
• After set-up, it will ask to start camera, select <yes>.

3. Install Ngrok

1. Create an account to get an auth token.
2. Go to Ngrok and Download for Linux.
3. Extract/Unzip the file.
4. Required: place ngrok file inside Da Bell folder.
5. Run the following in your command line:

# verify you are in Da Bell directory
pwd
./ngrok authtoken <your-auth-token>
# then to start tunnel on port 80 for localhost
./ngrok http 80
# copy the link you see after running this command 
# and insert in you browser to see your camera feed

4. Add Credentials

• Enter all the credentials needed in da_bell_secrets.py file, program will not run otherwise.

Required:

• firebase information
  • to upload photo/video data and files.
• phone number and carrier
  • to send a message when doorbell is pressed
• gmail account and password
  • to send a message when doorbell is pressed

5. Run

# make sure you are Da-Bell directory
# to check your current directory
pwd
# run door bell program
python doorbell.py
# program should be waiting for button input, press button
# the Raspberry Pi will take a photo and a 3 second video
# then it will send the user a message + photo that someone is at the door
# user can see the photo and 3 second video taken on the app

6. <optional> Autorun on Boot

# edit this file
sudo nano /etc/xdg/lxsession/LXDE-pi/autostart
# add this to end of file
@lxterminal -e python /home/littleone/Desktop/Da-Bell/doorbell.py &
# save, close program, and reboot
# note: lxterminal is needed so that it waits until the GUI boots and then
# runs a terminal, then it executes the program. If I try to run without 
# terminal, it crashes due to no Wifi and some other reasons.

iOS App:

Da Bell also has an iOS app where you can do the following:

• view live feed
• see all photos taken when doorbell was pressed
  • saved on firebase storage
• see all 3-second videos taken when doorbell was pressed
  • saved on firebase storage
• see videos of all motion detected activites
  • saved on the Raspberry Pi

Improvements:

Audio and speaker capabilities can be added to Da Bell, but was not included to keep costs to a minimum. In addition, this prototype was created to only show video because there isn't many low-cost options that did not include extra hardware (like a speaker and microphone, thus higher price). In essense, we wanted to make a modular door bell camera that can be improved by just plugging in hardware and enabling the respective feature. These features can be added without any issues to existing project. Therefore, Da bell is a base prototype and anyone can improve Da Bell!

Ideas for Improvement:

• when motion is detected, send the user a text message and save state
  • when motion if no longer detected, reset state to default
• allow ability to change setting to send user a text when motion is detected
  • setting can be enabled/disabled via the iOS App
  • iOS changes camera settings in firebase
  • Raspberry Pi listens to changes in camera setting from firebase