EEE CarPC Surveillance System.

**Titanium78** · 11-01-2008, 06:01 AM

Hi all... Newbie here...

I have been thinking of this idea for a very long time, wondering whether the concept feasible before i embark into this project.

*. this is just a rough idea, i hasn't got any hardware yet... :P

Hardware required...
1) Asus EEE 901 (20gb SSD + 5800mAh battery)
2) Linksys WVC54GCA IP Camera
3) Cross RJ45 cable.
4) USB 3.5G modem. (Optional)
5) 2 or 3 Webcam (Optional)

Set up...
1) Set static IP for both EEE and IP Camera.
2) Enable wake-on-LAN on the EEE.
3) Set "wake up capabilities" to "Both" in the LAN card option.
4) Set up FTP** in the EEE.
5) Enable motion-detect on the WVC54GCA.
6) Save Photo / video to FTP** upon detecting motion.
7) Connect EEE n IP Camera via the cross RJ45 Cable.
8) Place the IP camera at the rear dash board facing front.
9) Put EEE into standby mode running on battery.
10) When motion detect by the IP cam, wake up the EEE and save the image/video.

** i not sure if Linksys WVC54GCA support "save to shared folder" but it do support FTP. I tested shared folder access with 2 PCs, it is able to wake up the PC whenever the other trying to access its shared folder...

Will this concept work as planned?

Any comments?

**DarquePervert** · 11-01-2008, 09:56 AM

There is one flaw in your idea.
The PC will require power in order to provide any of the security funtionality you're aiming for. When the car is runinng, that's not a big deal. However, that's also not when you want/need the scurity.
It's when the car is parked that you need the security functionality. If you have the PC running when the car is off, you're going to be draining the battery, unless you have a source of AC power, meaning an extension cord running to your house or apartment.

Now, I see you mentioned WAKE functionality. The idea is sound fo hte WoL, however, there are a few flaws:
1 - In order for the camera to attempt to FTP an image (or save it to a network location), that location has to exist already. If the PC is in hibernate or standby mode, then the location isn't there, so no image will be saved.
I don't know if these sorts of cameras have any internal buffer to store images until they can be saved to a network location. If so, then this might alleviate that problem, but then why would you need to initiate a WoL in the first place?

2 - If the camera can't buffer images, then the first couple attempts to transmit via FTP may result in the image being lost, as the "save to" location isnt' ready yet. That could result in precious data being lost.

3 - If the car sits for a period of time, the cameras are going to capture images of other things such as animals, other cars parking, pedestrians, etc. Each time the motion sensor caputres an image, it's going to boot the PC, save the image, and repeat whenever it senses something. That's going to drain your car battery. Shoot, keeping hte PC in standby mode will drain your battery, as well.
How quickly? I can't say. But if the battery drains to the point where the PC can't boot, then the system is pretty useless.
If a criminal knew what comprises this security system and how it functions, it would be pretty easy to override it by creating motion to keep the PC running, drain the battery, jump start your car and go.

**nobb** · 11-01-2008, 09:58 AM

Sorry to sound negative but I dont think it would be practical to run a whole computer 24/7 in the car. It would drain the battery much faster than you can recharge it with typical driving. The wake on LAN thing will be constantly turning your computer on/off...and I am guessing there will be about 5 or more seconds between motion detect, waking the EEE and actual recording. That might be crucial time, eg if some punks throw a rock at your windshield then run off before the camera can record.

Something else to consider. Ive built a successful 24/7 surveillance system using a low cost dvr unit and ccd camera from ebay:

Low power consumption 24/7 video recorder?

Only takes about 4W and it is practically maintenance free because the dvr automatically rewrites older footage. The whole setup only cost about $140. Disadvantage is the unit can only take video for 15s intervals, but the snapshot feature is good enough for me.

**Titanium78** · 11-01-2008, 10:39 AM

Hey DarquePervert ,

Thank for ur comments, appreciate it.

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

1 - In order for the camera to attempt to FTP an image (or save it to a network location), that location has to exist already. If the PC is in hibernate or standby mode, then the location isn't there, so no image will be saved.
I don't know if these sorts of cameras have any internal buffer to store images until they can be saved to a network location. If so, then this might alleviate that problem, but then why would you need to initiate a WoL in the first place?

This is the reason of setting static IP addresses. The EEE should simply wakes whenever it senses activity routed to its specific IP address. Unless the IP camera stops attempting to locate the FTP/Shared drive after 1st few failed packets.

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

2 - If the camera can't buffer images, then the first couple attempts to transmit via FTP may result in the image being lost, as the "save to" location isnt' ready yet. That could result in precious data being lost.

Yes, I agreed. Standby mode will require at least 5 sec to resume.

Originally Posted by DarquePervert

3 - If the car sits for a period of time, the cameras are going to capture images of other things such as animals, other cars parking, pedestrians, etc. Each time the motion sensor caputres an image, it's going to boot the PC, save the image, and repeat whenever it senses something. That's going to drain your car battery. Shoot, keeping hte PC in standby mode will drain your battery, as well.
How quickly? I can't say. But if the battery drains to the point where the PC can't boot, then the system is pretty useless.
If a criminal knew what comprises this security system and how it functions, it would be pretty easy to override it by creating motion to keep the PC running, drain the battery, jump start your car and go.

Yes, you are right. Have to work on the camera sensitivity, I guess should be able to reduce the motion detection sensitivity, I not too familiar on this. A full charged EEE 901 is able to last 5/6 hours, so I guess a standby mode EEE should be able to last longer…

Alternatively…
- Add an external battery Eg. AC Ryan ext battery for laptop.
- Add a 3.5g modem and enable Email alert.

**Titanium78** · 11-01-2008, 10:54 AM

Hey nobb… No worries, I m here to learn.

Originally Posted by nobb

Sorry to sound negative but I dont think it would be practical to run a whole computer 24/7 in the car. It would drain the battery much faster than you can recharge it with typical driving. The wake on LAN thing will be constantly turning your computer on/off...and I am guessing there will be about 5 or more seconds between motion detect, waking the EEE and actual recording. That might be crucial time, eg if some punks throw a rock at your windshield then run off before the camera can record.

No, I never intend to run PC 24/7 in car, that y I planning to use EEE901. Will also include a switch to charge when driving and stop the charging when park. The only item which I will connect to the car battery at all time is the network camera (Rated 5v and 1A).

Yes… standby mode will take at least 5 sec, no choice got to live with it.

Originally Posted by nobb

Something else to consider. Ive built a successful 24/7 surveillance system using a low cost dvr unit and ccd camera from ebay:

Low power consumption 24/7 video recorder?

Only takes about 4W and it is practically maintenance free because the dvr automatically rewrites older footage. The whole setup only cost about $140. Disadvantage is the unit can only take video for 15s intervals, but the snapshot feature is good enough for me

Thanks… will study your set up.