The security of a specific place can be optimized with something as simple as a hidden camera. Just as dashcams help prevent insurance fraud, a well-camouflaged lens should be more than enough to detect if someone decided to strike up a friendship with your belongings. This project involves a Raspberry Pi 3 and its official camera, but it also uses Pushbullet to send notifications to your mobile device.
Let's suppose your things are going missing. You don't know the how or the when, but after a deep search you conclude that someone decided to take a souvenir from your home, office, workshop, car, or wherever... and it's frequent. The legal framework for using hidden cameras varies greatly by region, but their adoption is growing. Most disturbing is that not all cases are related to theft. Unfortunately, I've heard about domestic violence situations where a hidden camera is the only way victims have to obtain evidence. Beyond the details, the truth is that anyone can set up a small security camera with notification support using a Raspberry Pi 3 (a Zero W also works) and the second version of the official camera.
The user Kenny from iotbreaks.com published a complete tutorial on YouTube that lasts just over 18 minutes. Essentially, the camera's operation is divided into three parts: the Raspberry Pi monitors the area, and once it detects motion (not in real time, but quickly enough) it sends a notification through the Pushbullet platform to your mobile device. With a series of special commands, the user can obtain captures, a short video, or check the API's status. On the software side, several dependencies must be covered and FFmpeg needs to be compiled from source, but Kenny offers a ready-to-use image (the download requires subscribing to his mailing list).
I imagine more advanced Raspberry Pi users have half a dozen alternatives to this tutorial, and not everyone is fond of using Pushbullet, but it's one of the simplest methods we've found so far. Anyone who's done something similar in the past can share their experiences in the comments. We want to know!
