ESP32 PIR Security Camera

Simple PIR triggered security camera based on the ESP-cam module.

Warning

This is an insecure implementation which shouldn't be used outside of a test environment.

Requirements

• esptool
• screen (macOS)
• mpremote
• poetry
• micropython bin from https://github.com/lemariva/micropython-camera-driver

Installation

Device installation requirements

# Install the python deps
poetry install

# Erase flash
poetry run esptool --port <device-port> --baud 115200 erase-flash

# Flash the chip
poetry run esptool --port <device-port> --baud 115200 write-flash --flash_freq 40m -z 0x1000 --bin-file ~/Downloads/micropython_camera_*.bin

# Check that you can repl onto the board
poetry run mpremote repl

# Install the camera firmware
poetry run mpremote cp securitycamera/main.py :main.py
poetry run mpremote cp securitycamera/webserver.py :webserver.py
poetry run mpremote repl  # you may need to reboot with ctrl+D

Viewing photos over WiFi

The ESP32 starts its own WiFi access point, ESP32_AP_Mode, at boot. The SSID and password are set in connect_wifi() in securitycamera/main.py.

1. Connect your phone or computer to ESP32_AP_Mode with the password from connect_wifi().
2. Open http://192.168.4.1/ in a browser.

When the web server runs

The web server only runs while at least one device is connected to the access point:

• When a device connects, the main loop starts the web server on port 80 on its next pass, and the onboard LED on GPIO 33 lights up.
• When the last device disconnects, the server stops within about a second, releases port 80, and the LED turns off.
• While the server is running, the main loop is busy serving pages. PIR motion is not checked and no photos are captured until the last device disconnects.

The gallery page

• Lists every .jpg or .jpeg file in /sd, shown as a thumbnail with its filename. Refresh the page to see new captures.
• Download saves a copy of the photo.
• Delete removes one photo after a confirmation prompt.
• Delete all removes every photo listed on the page after a confirmation prompt.

HTTP routes

Method	Path	Purpose
GET	/ or /index.html	Gallery page
GET	/file?path=<filename>	Serves one photo
POST	/delete	Deletes one photo (form field path)
POST	/delete_all	Deletes every photo in /sd

Any other path returns 404 Page Not Found.

Limitations

• Requests are handled one at a time.
• There is no login. Anyone who joins the access point can view and delete photos.