Outdoor motion sensor recommendations?

[fitzy89]

I am working on a security project for a farm that has problems with thieves.

I need some sort of motion sensor to compliment the current CCTV system that they have in place. The CCTV has motion detection but as it is used outdoors there is a lot of motion already like wild animals and trees moving in the wind that triggers it all the time making it useless.

I would like to use a Pi with some sort of motion sensor, maybe a PIR type which will detect when a car or person drives up to the gate so it can log the date/time, that way it will make it easier to match that time with the CCTV timestamp and see who arrived.

Can anyone recommend what type of motion sensor would work best for outdoor use which isn't likely to be activated by moving trees or similar? Maybe some sort of combined PIR/heat sensor maybe? It would still be activated by animals but the trees are the real issue here.

Long term I may think about adding a webcam to the Pi as well with number plate recognition or a snapshot but that's a job for another day, at the moment I just need to get a motion sensor.

Ideally it needs to be very small and inconspicuous to avoid vandalism or theft, the Pi itself can be hidden but any sensors would need to not be obvious.

Does anyone have any recommendations? I'm not too sure what's out there so any help would be appreciated.

[southpaw]

pretty sure you can do it with software alone, one application that springs to mind is "motion" which compare`s shots for changes (value parameters can be changed/set by user)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_(su ... _software)

[fitzy89]

I should have clarified that the current CCTV is run on a normal DVR and not on the Pi itself, the Pi would run alongside the CCTV and ideally just need to record the date/time that a certain motion sensor is triggered. Due to the constant movement of the surroundings I don't think it's possible to do it with video alone even with masks and sensitivity levels, at least not with the current system we have. The trees that the current cameras are mounted to also sway a bit which makes it even more difficult (there's no better location to mount them)

Do you happen to know if a PIR sensor detects movement of just people/animals or would a bush blowing in the wind also trigger it? I was thinking something along the lines of this as it's small and could be easily hidden: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/310985599180

[origami]

Hello fitzy89,
How is your project going?

I am also interested in similar topic, actually to protect outdoor plants with fruits from thieves.
What sensor you choose and what are you impressions with it.

Thank you

[fitzy89]

Hi origami

I haven't progressed any more with this yet as have had a lot of other committments take priority but I will be doing some more work on it in the next week or so hopefully as the police are now involved with the most recent round of thefts last week and we have been advised to get better cameras or other things to help identify people.

I'll post on here with any updates

[fitzy89]

Hi again sorry for the double post.

I've just seen this on ebay, tempted to give it a go as it's cheap and easy to do, will order a camera module as well.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/161593316126

[BMS Doug]

Hi again sorry for the double post.

I've just seen this on ebay, tempted to give it a go as it's cheap and easy to do, will order a camera module as well.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/161593316126

They are giving you a $10 adafruit motion sensor (available for £10 if you can't find it cheaper) and a bunch of connectors. There is no waterproofing with the kit. I'd just buy the sensor.

[Mark_T]

Passive IR detectors shouldn't be too sensitive to vegation since it will be at ambient temperature.

However note that the sky is typically very cold(*) compared to the landscape, so passive IR is used
in UAV's to sense the horizon for instance. Thus a moving tree against sky background is probably
very visible to passive IR detectors...

(*) the temperature of space, basically.

[Josvds]

Hello,,

Can you tell me what product you used and how you did connect it to the RPI?

I have "http://www.ebay.nl/itm/Adjust-Pyroelect ... xyx0JTjJ7v". This item works well but doesn`t have a proper case for using it outside.

I also have "http://www.ebay.nl/itm/162210272236?_tr ... EBIDX%3AIT" but this item doesn`t work on the RPI as far is i can see..

Kind regards,
Jos