Peek-a-Thief

Overview

What goes on in your dorm room while your away? When you have class and your roommate is home, what do you think he is doing? If you are even slightly suspicious that your personal stash of snacks is being eaten by someone else, then we have the solution for you.

Introducing: Peek-a-Thief, an operating system with the sole purpose of capturing close up images of the people who open up your drawers. Our end goal is to create a security device that discretely captures thieves in action.

Peek-A-Thief Twitter Feed

Team Members

• Michael Pichardo
• Derick Speltz
• Will Luer (TA)

Objectives

• Sense a person that opens up your drawer using the HC-SR04 ultrasonic sensors
• Create a sleek operation design that ensures the electrical hardware is hidden
• Create a mobile system that can operate in multiple environments including dorm rooms, offices, etc.
• When triggered by the sensor, take a picture using an 8-Megapixel camera
• Take these pictures of a person within a 1.0 meter range of the sensors every second for the first 10 seconds the drawer is opened
• Store picture data locally on Raspberry Pi
• Upload to social media platform (Twitter)
  • Stretch Objective: Integrate an Alarm system to startle the thieves!

Challenges

• Design sensor supports (for 3-D print) using SolidWorks software
• Hiding camera, wires, etc. so that they cannot easily be seen from the outside
• Construction: Attach the sensor supports onto the inside of the drawer with command strips and ensuring that the sensors don't interfere with each other
• Environment: Finding a good location for the system to operate in (good lighting for the picture, minimal extra noise that would interfere with the ultrasonic sensors)
• Hardware: Making sure sensors are stable and that the ultrasonic sensors work when sending signals against different types of materials
• Software: saving all picture data on Raspberry Pi to possibly upload to a social media interface
• User Safety: ensure fire safety from electrical system
• Privacy Considerations: In order for our system to work properly, we will need to take a picture of the person by optimizing camera angle. Given that it is surveillance of our own property, privacy of thieves will not be compromised.
• Operation Costs: Our operation does not cost us anything except time, but we enjoy what we do

Budget

• One: 8 MegaPixel Camera for Raspberry Pi: $25.00 + 7.99 (Shipping Charges) [1]
• One: IRIS 32 Quart Stacking Drawer, Black $17.99 (Amazon Prime = Free Shipping) [2]
• One: 1-meter Flex Cable for Raspberry Pi $3.95 + 9.42 (Shipping Charges) [3]
• One: Stuffed Teddy Bear (We own it) [4] [5]
• Wires, Cables, Electrical Tape, Soldering Iron (Lab) [6]
• One: Raspberry Pi & Breadboard (Lab) [7] [8]
• Two: Ranging HC-SR04 Detector Sensors for Raspberry Pi: (Lab) [9]
• One: Raspberry Pi Charging Cable 15.37 ($5.95 + $9.42 expedited shipping) [10]

 Total Budget: $79.72

Gantt Chart