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Watch Door

The device “WATCH DOOR” is devised for small offices with low budgets on security. This is an inexpensive and a good alternative for conventional CCTV’s.

Watch Door

The device “WATCH DOOR” is devised for small offices with low budgets on security. This is an inexpensive and a good alternative for conventional CCTV’s.
sustainable cities and communities

#SDG In Focus

SDG 11 : Sustainable cities and communities

Idea

We were inspired to make this kind of device when a neighbour was stolen from and had to watch hours of CCTV footage to be able to spot the intruder.

Problem statement

Most of the CCTVs are inefficient as one often has to go through an entire footage to be able to view a small scene. Some CCTV’s try to counter the problem by adding motion sensors and placing the CCTV’s on doors and walls to be able to detect people. But this just makes it easier for thieves to hide from the viewing CCTV.

Constraints

  • Keep the device cost lesser than the cost of cheapest CCTV with motion sensors.
  • Mount the system in such a way so that thieves won’t be able to get away from the eyes  of the camera.

Idea

We were inspired to make this kind of device when a neighbour was stolen from and had to watch hours of CCTV footage to be able to spot the intruder.

Problem statement

Most of the CCTVs are inefficient as one often has to go through an entire footage to be able to view a small scene. Some CCTV’s try to counter the problem by adding motion sensors and placing the CCTV’s on doors and walls to be able to detect people. But this just makes it easier for thieves to hide from the viewing CCTV.

Constraints

  • Keep the device cost lesser than the cost of cheapest CCTV with motion sensors.
  • Mount the system in such a way so that thieves won’t be able to get away from the eyes  of the camera.

Idea Brainstorming

ESP32 with camera and a sensor:

Camera usage made the contraption expensive and lost some of it’s strategic capabilities. It required a lot of wires for interfacing and this made it hard to service and repair. Also, the camera has just 2MP feed which was not very clear.

ESP8266 with heat/ultrasonic sensor: Ultrasound sensors are unreliable for this purpose as it did not captured quick hand movements. Also, we could not put ultrasound sensors in strategic places. Heat sensors are expensive and an animal or hot objects can trigger the alarm too.
ESP8266 with IR Sensor:  This was the easiest and most effective solution we came up with and went ahead with.

Idea Brainstorming

ESP32 with camera and a sensor:

Camera usage made the contraption expensive and lost some of it’s strategic capabilities. It required a lot of wires for interfacing and this made it hard to service and repair. Also, the camera has just 2MP feed which was not very clear.

ESP8266 with heat/ultrasonic sensor: Ultrasound sensors are unreliable for this purpose as it did not captured quick hand movements. Also, we could not put ultrasound sensors in strategic places. Heat sensors are expensive and an animal or hot objects can trigger the alarm too.
ESP8266 with IR Sensor:  This was the easiest and most effective solution we came up with and went ahead with.

Final Solution

To counter the inefficiencies of CCTV, we came up with the solution of placing an IR sensor near the Side of the door so that it would be able to send an alarm when the door is open.

This system when coupled with a camera is extremely efficient as we can also look at the footage. This system, however, needs to be installed inside the door’s frame for detecting when the person is outside. But if there is a pre-installed door or a glass door, this can be placed just above the door ledge to detect when the door is opened. This alarm can be received by Amazon Alexa using Alexa Voice Monkey or on Gmail.

Materials: Our system consists of an IR sensor to read whether the door is open or not. It is connected to an ESP8266 which can send signals using WIFI to a website which processes these signals to give an output. This system can be modified according to the client’s needs. We use Arduino IDE as our coding software and use a combination of Adafruit and IFTTT to identify the signals and give correct outputs.

This system is considerably cheaper than CCTV’s with distance sensors as some of the cheapest ones cost around ₹1000. This price can be further brought down by purchasing large quantities at wholesale prices.

Skills Applied

CAD | Electronics | Design Thinking | Programming | Soldering | Prototyping

Glimpses of the making

Project Contributor

Pranav Kumar

Spandan Panda

Detailed Project Documentation

This Project Has Been Developed By The Alumni Of Innovation School

Project Contributor

Pranav Kumar

Spandan Panda

Detailed Project Documentation

This Project Has Been Developed By The Alumni Of Innovation School

Solution In Action

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