py-security-camera

A simple security camera written in Python which starts recording when a face is detected and warns the user by e-mail using the Python library OpenCV.

Installation and settings

Install requirements:

• pip install -r requirements.txt (Windows)
• pip3 install -r requirements.txt (Linux/macOS)

Configure settings:

• Set EMAIL_USER and EMAIL_PASSWORD as system variables
• Substitute [email protected], [email protected] and smtp.email.com in the py-security-camera.py file with your sender and destinatary e-mails and your e-mail provider. Make sure to use SMTPS (secured SMTP).

Usage

Run the program with:

• python py-security-camera.py (Windows)
• python3 py-security-camera.py (Linux/macOS)

When the program is running, the webcam is turned on and cannot be used by other applications. It starts recording whenever a face is detected by the camera and sends an e-mail warning to the preconfigured e-mail setting.

It stops recording 5 seconds after no face is being detected on screen. This 5 seconds setting can be modified by altering the variable SECONDS_TO_RECORD_AFTER_DETECTION.

The application can be exited by pressing q.