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Additional resources

Home Surveillance Systems

Set up a home surveillance system using a webcam: keep an eye on your possessions while you're out of the house

One of the consequences of living in a society that's materially wealthy is that we have lots of things worth stealing.

Expensive home entertainment systems, computers, cameras and camcorders... the list goes on, making some peoples' homes true Aladdin's Caves to potential burglars.

How do you make sure that your possessions are guarded securely? An alarm is one option, but that won't capture much evidence if there is a break-in.

You could stay at home all day in order to catch any intruders, but this isn't a good idea. First, your lost income will mean that you can't afford consumer electronics anyway, and second, a shout of "I say, my good man, stop right there" isn't likely to have the required effect. Legally, your home is definitely not your castle, so it's best not to confront someone who may be dangerous.

A better idea is to remotely observe what happens with a home surveillance system and call the police, hoping they'll arrive in time to catch the burglar. For that you'll need hidden cameras taking pictures of anyone who enters or leaves your house while you're not there. A good home surveillance system can be put together with nothing more complicated than a webcam.

Of course, there are other uses for do-it-yourself home surveillance system equipment. Maybe you're the suspicious type, and want to keep an eye on your other half while you're out at work. Perhaps you want a home surveillance system to check the kids aren't up to mischief during the school holidays. Maybe you want to check that the cleaner and the babysitter aren't helping themselves to your Scotch.

All you need to for your home surveillance system is a PC, some inexpensive home surveillance system hardware, and a few pieces of downloadable software.

Here are some of the basics of installing a webcam for a home surveillance system:

[01] LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION To begin the installation of your home surveillance system, look at your house. Where's the best place for a camera to be mounted? You'll probably want to mount it in a hidden place, so that any intruders won't discover your home surveillance system and disable it. That means you're going to need an extension cable. The cameras available are mostly USB devices, so you'll need a long USB cable. Most computer retailers sell them. Unless you get a wireless home surveillance system (click here for more on wireless video surveillance)

[02] NUTS AND BOLTS The next thing you're likely to need for your home surveillance system is a selection of brackets, screws, rawlplugs and so on. Technosavvy individual that you are, you know that there's no need to leave the comfort of your houseto get these - and anyway, someone might break in while you're out.

[03] CHOOSE YOUR WEBCAM You've decided on the mounting point for the camera, but what camera should you buy? There's a wide range available. It can be hidden behind a picture, and sends its signals via wireless transfer to your PC.

[05] SET UP YOUR CAMERA Whichever home surveillance system camera you buy, plug it into your PC. You won't need to install the software that came with it, though. If necessary, you can add the basic drivers so that the home surveillance system camera is recognised by the operating system, but most cameras don't come with the kind of software that's required for remote monitoring.

[06] GET THE SOFTWARE So, amble over to www.webcam-control-center.com, which has one of the most comprehensive software packages for webcam control available anywhere. You can download the shareware version to check that it does what you require. Alternatively, search the Web for 'webcam control software' for other options.

[07] SET MOTION DETECTION Different home surveillance system software packages have different interfaces, but most have a similar range of features. We're particularly interested in the 'motion detector' function, because we want our webcam to switch on when movement is detected. You can fine-tune this feature to ensure that images are only taken when there's sufficient or significant movement.

[08] GET THE IMAGES ON TO THE WEB So, now you have a means of recording still images and or/video images to your PC, whenever movement is detected. Not much use if your PC is nicked, though, is it? You need to get those images off your PC quickly. Most webcam control software will have a built-in FTP client that lets you do this relatively easily, uploading the images to your Web space.

[10] START LISTENING You might want to hear, as well as see, what's going on. In this case, you'll need a microphone along with the camera (some have microphones built in). You'll then have to store any captured events as AVI files, because you can't record sound in a JPEG image.

[11] GIVE YOUR CAMERA PAN AND TILT If you're feeling ingenious, it is possible to mount your camera on a pan-and-tilt pad that'll let it scan around the room, covering a much wider field of view than would otherwise be possible. Have a look at the 'Ninja', at www.x10.com/products/x10_vk74a.htm, for an idea of what's possible.

[12] HIDE YOUR PC The very fact that your PC must be switched on while you're out could draw an intruder's attention to it. If you have a spare PC, you could connect it via wireless LAN to the camera, hiding the PC box in your attic or a cupboard. But perhaps that's being just a bit too paranoid.

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