Motion activated camera app

[Peter]

I wanted to set up a spare Android 10 device as a semi permanent closed
circuit camera connected to power inside the house and package-taped
securely to the corner of a front window so I could see the entire
driveway where the mailbox, front lawn & [parked car is in plain sight.

I looked for free apps without ads but I couldn't find any apps that didn't
require an account on the Internet (which is not needed for my purposes).

Instead, I set up "Open Camera" (which has a setting to keep the screen on
while the app is in the foreground) and I set up wifi screen mirroring onto
my PC screen over the lan (which enables remote camera shutter control).

This works as a closed circuit camera with shutter & video controls.
But it's not motion activated - which is the only flaw I can think of.

Do you know of a motion-activated camera app that I can test out for this?

[Arno Welzel]

Peter, 2023-11-16 05:22:

[...]

Post by Peter
Instead, I set up "Open Camera" (which has a setting to keep the screen on
while the app is in the foreground) and I set up wifi screen mirroring onto
my PC screen over the lan (which enables remote camera shutter control).
This works as a closed circuit camera with shutter & video controls.
But it's not motion activated - which is the only flaw I can think of.
Do you know of a motion-activated camera app that I can test out for this?

No, I don't know anything like this. But a Raspberry Pi with Camera
module and "MotionEyeOS" may be the easier option. This allows to
configure motion detection and also automatic uploading of images or
video clips to a server.

[Arno Welzel]

Post by Arno Welzel
[...]

Post by Peter
Instead, I set up "Open Camera" (which has a setting to keep the screen on
while the app is in the foreground) and I set up wifi screen mirroring onto
my PC screen over the lan (which enables remote camera shutter control).
This works as a closed circuit camera with shutter & video controls.
But it's not motion activated - which is the only flaw I can think of.
Do you know of a motion-activated camera app that I can test out for this?

No, I don't know anything like this. But a Raspberry Pi with Camera
module and "MotionEyeOS" may be the easier option. This allows to
configure motion detection and also automatic uploading of images or
video clips to a server.

There is even an app to access devices running MotionEye servers:

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jairaj.janglegmail.motioneye&hl=en_US>

[Peter]

Post by Arno Welzel

Post by Arno Welzel
No, I don't know anything like this. But a Raspberry Pi with Camera
module and "MotionEyeOS" may be the easier option. This allows to
configure motion detection and also automatic uploading of images or
video clips to a server.

<https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jairaj.janglegmail.motioneye&hl=en_US>

Using this suggestion, I was able to get Android to start a web server that
displays camera output on port 8080 on the phone's IP address on the LAN by
using this free Android app (com.pas.webcam) on the Google Play Store.

https://www.reddit.com/r/homeassistant/comments/14r8u7u/motion_detection_using_old_android_phone_camera/

The advantage of this method over OpenCamera is that it's easier to display
whatever a phone sees since the viewing device need only be a web browser.

That opens up the platforms available to whatever runs a web browser.
But it still has to detect the motion in order to record an image or video.

[Andrew]

Post by Peter
Do you know of a motion-activated camera app that I can test out for this?

I don't know of any ready made Android motion detector camera apps but
there's open source motion detector src for Android that compares two
images taken in sequence to determine motion by the delta between them.

Google: http://code.google.com/p/android-motion-detection
Github: http://github.com/phishman3579/android-motion-detection

In my search for an app on the Google Play Store that incorporates this
code, I found this sample app but you would have to build it yourself.
https://www.protechtraining.com/blog/post/using-the-camera-api-60

Do you know how to build an app in Android Studio from the source code?

[Carlos E. R.]

Post by Peter
I wanted to set up a spare Android 10 device as a semi permanent closed
circuit camera connected to power inside the house and package-taped
securely to the corner of a front window so I could see the entire
driveway where the mailbox, front lawn & [parked car is in plain sight.
I looked for free apps without ads but I couldn't find any apps that didn't
require an account on the Internet (which is not needed for my purposes).
Instead, I set up "Open Camera" (which has a setting to keep the screen on
while the app is in the foreground) and I set up wifi screen mirroring onto
my PC screen over the lan (which enables remote camera shutter control).
This works as a closed circuit camera with shutter & video controls.
But it's not motion activated - which is the only flaw I can think of.
Do you know of a motion-activated camera app that I can test out for this?

I just remembered that I used such an app once. I wanted to capture a
mouse in a closed room. I failed. I mean, I didn't get a photo.

Motion Detector Pro

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.mvainformatics.android.motiondetectorpro.activity

[Peter]

Post by Carlos E. R.
Motion Detector Pro
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=dk.mvainformatics.android.motiondetectorpro.activity

Thank you for your suggestion here and on the Windows newsgroup.
I installed Motion Detector Pro and set it up for email and cloud storage
(even though that's not what I want, it wanted that kind of setup)
but it seems to need something else to save any photos (none saved yet).

I did get the IP Webcam working but it doesn't detect motion.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam

If I could get Motion Eye to work on the PC, that might detect the motion.
https://techniapps.com/2020/06/28/download-motioneye-pc-windows-os-x/

[Andrew]

Post by Peter
I did get the IP Webcam working but it doesn't detect motion.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pas.webcam

There is something new in Android 14 that I saw about enabling any phone to
act as a USB webcam for computers to act as a zoom camera without software.
https://www.xda-developers.com/android-14-will-turn-phone-into-webcam-for-pc/

The standout feature in this update is the ability to use a phone as a USB
webcam based on the USB Video Class (or UVC) standard, which allows for no
platform restrictions, meaning you can plug your Android phone into a PC, a
Chromebook, a Mac, or even a Linux PC to attend a video call.

As for how Android 14's webcam capability works, you'll need to plug your
phone into a computer and tap Charging this device via USB in the
notification drawer. Now, in the Use USB for section, there is a new Webcam
option to select. Your phone will now display a notification telling you to
configure the webcam, and tapping on it will open an app on your phone to
show the preview and tweak the video feed. You'll be able to choose
different zoom options and switch between front and rear-facing cameras.

This feature is similar to the Continuity Camera feature that Apple
introduced for iOS and macOS devices. However, the Android version is more
flexible, as it works with any PC operating system, including Windows, Mac,
Chrome OS, and Linux. You can even use an Android phone as a webcam for
another Android device, if you want.
https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/android-14-beta-now-lets-you-use-your-phone-as-a-pc-webcam