144 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
144 lines
4.8 KiB
Markdown
Executable File
---
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title: 'Arduino Camera Trap'
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slug: 'arduino-camera-trap'
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date: 2022-09-18T18:15:49+02:00
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lang: en
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category: camera-trap
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---
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Some years ago, I had the opportunity to create a camera trap based on an Arduino board. The goal of this project was to capture photos of wild animals, and to have fun with electronics and programming.
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At the time, I created a website in html, to present the project; but I can't find the source code anymore... That's a shame.
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I will try to present this old project again, hoping that it may interest someone.
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## Principle
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A commercial automatic camera is usually based on a heat sensor (infrared sensor), and takes pictures when it detects movement.
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These sensors are similar to the presence detectors that can be found in public toilets, for example.
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The project consists simply in using an infrared motion detector (PIR sensor) to trigger the shooting, performed by a digital camera.
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The interface between the camera and the sensor is the Arduino board (in my case an Arduino UNO).
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## Hardware
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- Arduino UNO (or other programmable board, with inputs / outputs)
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- Infrared sensor (PIR sensor)
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- Spy Camera (here an AdaFruit Spy Camera) with slot for SD card, and connectors for the trigger and the power supply
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- SD card
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- RTC shield for Arduino (optional but useful to record the date and time of the shots)
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## Assembly
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The assembly is very simple. The PIR sensor output is connected on the pin 3 of the Arduino board, where the VCC (+5V) et GND (ground) are also connected to the board.
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The camera trigger is connected to the pin 4 of the Arduino board, and both the VCC and GND are connected to the board as well.
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We can use a 9V battery to power the Arduino board, and the camera, with an adapter. (This way, the system can be autonomous for some hours).
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Warning, it is important not to connnect the spy cammera to the computer when it's powered by the Arduino; else it will burn... (I made this mistake, and I had to buy a new camera).
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## Code
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The code is rather simple. In the loop function, we check the state of the PIR sensor, and if it is HIGH, we trigger the camera.
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We also save the date and time of shooting in the RTC shield SD card.
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```ino
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/*
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* piege_photographique.ino
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* Take a photo when motion is detected
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* and record the date of shooting on SD card
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* Samuel ORTION feb2019
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*/
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#include <SPI.h>
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#include <SD.h>
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#include <Wire.h> //required for the next library
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#include "RTClib.h"
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File myFile;
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RTC_Millis rtc;
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//declare the pins of the compenents:
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#define pirPin 3//The PIR motion sensor
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#define trigCamera 4//The camera's trigger
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int photoNumber;
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/*
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* Functions:
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*/
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void photo(){//function for shooting pictures
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// "Hold HIGH and trigger quick (<250ms) LOW to take a photo."
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digitalWrite(trigCamera, LOW);
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delay(50);
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digitalWrite(trigCamera, HIGH);
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}
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void printDate (){
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DateTime now = rtc.now(); //define "now" as object containing the date produced by the RTC
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//the following instruction print the date on the SerialMonitor
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myFile.print("Photo n°");
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myFile.print(photoNumber);
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myFile.print(" : ");
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myFile.print(now.day(), DEC);
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myFile.print('/');
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myFile.print(now.month(), DEC);
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myFile.print('/');
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myFile.print(now.year(), DEC);
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myFile.print('/');
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myFile.print(now.hour(), DEC);
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myFile.print(':');
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myFile.print(now.minute(), DEC);
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myFile.print(':');
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myFile.print(now.second(), DEC);
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myFile.println();//skip a line
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}
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void setup() {
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//define pinMode:
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pinMode(pirPin, INPUT);
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pinMode(trigCamera, OUTPUT);
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digitalWrite(trigCamera, HIGH);
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//following line sets the RTC to the date & time this sketch was compiled
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rtc.begin(DateTime(F(__DATE__), F(__TIME__)));
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// This line sets the RTC with an explicit date & time, for example to set
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// January 21, 2014 at 3am you would call:
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// rtc.adjust(DateTime(2014, 1, 21, 3, 0, 0));
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photoNumber = 0;//initialization of the number of pictures
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if(!SD.begin(10)){
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while (1);
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}
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}
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void loop() {
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myFile = SD.open("TIMEDATA.txt", FILE_WRITE);//open the file "TIMEDATA" to write in it
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if(digitalRead(pirPin)){//if motion is detected:
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photo();//camera takes a photograph
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photoNumber++;//a new picture has been taken
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printDate();//write the date of shooting on SD card
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delay(1000);//pause between each photo
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}
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myFile.close();// close the file after editing
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}
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```
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## Results
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I had the change to have a family of great tit, that were in a birdhouse I made.
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Here are two images taken by the Arduino Camera Trap.
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