Hello,
I want to link a motion sensor in my house to a PC, so that I can write a program to email me if there is activity. Is there such a thing? I understand that some network cameras have similar functions (for example FTP'ing file on motion sensing, or sending emails themselves), and I have played with them in the past, but is there a simple motion sensor equivalent?
Thanks!
-Dean
A loooooong time ago there was a share ware program and documentation floating around the BBSs that allowed you to monitor a switch condition with the serial port of a PC. If I recall that one required a very minor external circuit to work properly. It was for DOS, but any decent programmer could rewrite it using VB to do whatever you wanted or even start a macro to send an e-mail.
I knew of one commercial application that used a variation of this for pedestrian counters. They used a couple specialty multi port serial cards, and then had an external circuit board with all the trip indicators for their photo beams.
I would ask the guys in the automation newsgroup. This type of project is more up their alley.
You can jury rig something like that with X-10
Motion detector to X-10 powerflash Computer with X-10 interface picks up the change Several software packages that will send out email in response to X-10
X-10 may have other options as well these days. Have not used it in years.
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