This project monitors my garage door and notifies me when it opens or closes, or when it has been open late at night.
It has been through a few changes.
The first version was a two-part solution: an Arduino that was located next to the garage door, and a Python script that ran on an internet- connected (Linux-based) computer. The two pieces communicate over a bluetooth serial connection. The Arduino board could tell whether the door was open or closed by whether or not a magnet on the door was close to a reed switch on the track. The Python script ran in a loop, asking the Arduino to look at the door every few seconds, and then sending a message to my phone if the value changed.
More details can be found at http://blog.alanporter.com/2012-09-02/garage
I showed the project to my neighbor, and he was interested in making one, too. But while I had no problem running the Python script on my always-on Linux mini-server, I did not like the idea of asking him to leave a computer on all the time, just to watch his door.
So we came up with a second version of the project that combines the two pieces together on a Raspberry Pi... a much more self-contained solution. The only external things it needs are power and wifi.
This project contains:
- the Python script that monitors the door and sends alerts
- some startup and config files
- code and schematics from the older Arduino+Python version
- some pictures
CC0 Public Domain - http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
This has been a very fun project, and it is useful as well. I hope you enjoy it. If you have questions or comments, please contact me.
Alan Porter ([email protected])