topic Detecting motion, then activating other cameras in Features

Detecting motion, then activating other cameras

Target_Acquired — Mon, 03 Oct 2016 02:04:01 GMT

Hello!

Okay, I have a screen enclosure in my backyard; it protects my swimming pool. Currently, I have three cameras in place (all aimed toward the house or along the face of the house, covering house doors, windows, and screen enclosure doors. I may add a fourth camera to aim away from the house at a key door location.

I am very concerned about

A) somebody tearing through the screen and breaking in the sliding glass doors or

B) tearing through the screen and going for a swim (kids)

Nobody should be in my pool area when I am away. If anybody IS there, I want all the videos I can get, I want to see the colors of their eyes, and I want to see faces and bodies for good identification, especially if they break a window or go for a dip in my pool without permission. If any of these cameras see anything, I want all three or four of them in that zone to start recording.

Therefore, I would like to set up rules so that any of these cameras detecting motion in this zone would have the ability to activate all 3 (or all 4) in said zone. Can I do this?

All I can find is the option to have (for example), On Camera 3 Motion, Activate Camera 3 (or alternatively, activate Camera 4). But no way it seems for me to send a command to activate multiple cameras in a zone.

This would be highly useful.

Re: Detecting motion, then activating other cameras

Target_Acquired — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 04:55:11 GMT

I ran a test. More testing is needed, but I think it works.

Imagine this. You are standing on the edge of the pool looking North over the pool to the house:

Cam 3 on West pool screen door points Northeast to capture house (North) and other screen door (East). Cam 3 can't see you.
Cam 4 is behind you on pool screen pointing north at house. Cam 4 can see over your head and going from L to R, it captures dining window, two sliding doors (one to family room, one to master br), bedroom window, and the East screen door.
Cam 5 on East pool screen door points Northwest to capture same bedroom window and other pool screen door (West)

I just created a test mode with three rules.

On motion cam 5, record on cam 3
On motion cam 5, record on cam 4
On motion cam 5, record on cam 5

Then I tested it by walking through the East screen door across the pool deck. It's night, so I see Cam 5 lights up as soon as I walk through the door. As it should, because it's aimed right at my head. I take about four steps and cam 4 (looking straight at the house) is lit. Two or three more steps, and cam 3 is glowing like HAL. Ding, Ding, Ding! 3 text messages, yay!

More testing is needed, and of course this will take a lot of rules. I hope that the Arlo developers will eventually provide the logic for composite rules (the "and" in "If-then-and-and-and." But for now it seems doable.

Re: Detecting motion, then activating other cameras

AnthonyArmato — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 00:47:09 GMT

Thanks for posting this. I actually wasn't aware this was possible until reading this then looking at the rules page. I'm going to have to play with this myself !

Re: Detecting motion, then activating other cameras

JT — Thu, 30 Apr 2015 16:55:41 GMT

Great tip!

I followed your lead and set up other cameras to record when motion is detected on the camera just inside our preschool front gate during non-school hours. (The gate camera is set to record for 10 seconds.)

So, when motion is detected at the gate, the gate camera records for 10 seconds, then a notice is sent out. THEN (sometimes) another camera starts to record. Problem #1: the second camera doesn't awlays record when motion is detected on the gate camera

However, when it works correctly, a person walking quickly through the gate can get through this viewed area AND through the next camera's vieded area by the time the second camera starts to record. Problem #2: the second camera does not start recording immediately.

Any help is appreicated!