1

I am a pure s/w guy, know nothing about hardware & certainly couldn't handle a soldering iron. That's not likely to change, so hopefully there is an off-the-shelf solution for me.

I have am a professional embedded coder, and have done a few projects with Raspberry Pi, ESP32, Onion Omega 2 & BBC micro:bit, plus Android/ iOs apps, so the software won't be a problem.

Basically, I want to make something with the functionality of an Amazon Ring(tm) doorbell.

  • it needs internet connection
  • it should have a camera
  • and a display (now we have 2-way video)
  • a microphone
  • and a speaker (now we have 2 way voice)
  • a button to push & start communication
  • a bonus would be Passive Infra Red detection, in case I decide to make a burglar alarm (or cat watcher?)
  • an IP67 housing would be nice, in case I actually want to use it on my door, but I can live without it, as this is just a hobby project
  • cheap/reasonably priced would be a bonus

I do like LilyGo's TTgo ESP32 dev boards. The TTGO T-Camera Plus looks like a good candidate, BUT, while it has a microphone, I don't see a speaker. I also don't see a button, to 'ring' the doorbell, but, it has a Grove connector, which I love, and could use for a button (if you don't know Grove, see here - it's plug & play with several hundred sensors, servo motors & more). Plus, it has an IP67 housing available.

I will contact LiliGo, to ask about a speaker (and post the reply here). In the meantime, is there an off the shelf (dev) board that I can use do develop my own Amazon Ring(tm) doorbell?

Mawg says reinstate Monica
  • 1,125
  • 6
  • 18
  • 1
    What screen size do you need? The screen on the TTGO Camera Plus is tiny, not sure it’s really useful for two-way video. Battery life could also become quite an issue, what do you have in mind in this respect? – jcaron Oct 02 '20 at 11:52
  • Anything at all. It's just a hobby project. hardly even a proof of concept. As long as it can handle 2-way video & soubds over internet, I will be happy. *After* that, I can polish it - if I am not lreay on to my next prject :-) – Mawg says reinstate Monica Oct 02 '20 at 20:22
  • 1
    There are quite a few boards or devices with either a screen or a camera out there, not quite sure if there are many with both. You might be better off taking a cheap Android phone or tablet, it will have nearly everything you need (and more). I’m not quite sure what kind of performance you could expect from an ESP32 running 2-way video, which you’ll surely need to compress/decompress. Even a nearly useless 10Kpixel screen at 9 bits/pixel and 10 FPS is already 1 Mbps raw bandwidth and that’s awfully bad quality. QVGA at 24 bits and 24 FPS is over 40 Mbps raw. You may want to explore RPis? – jcaron Oct 02 '20 at 21:10
  • You have certainly opened my eyes to new possibilities (upvote). An Android device could be both Ends". Maybe also Raspberry Pi (?). It was just that the ESP32 is so cheap (plus I have experience of it). Feel free to work that up into an answer – Mawg says reinstate Monica Oct 02 '20 at 22:20

0 Answers0