Cardboard Box Security Camera (Streams to ANY Platform!)

Hey guys, in this Instructable, I will show you how you can make your own simple but amazing security camera using a Raspberry Pi 3b+. This is a very simple project and if you are a complete beginner with Raspberry Pi, you will learn some basics.

This camera will stream via WiFi to any device using VLC, so if you are away from your home, you can quickly check your house on your phone or computer.

Ready? Let's go!

This project needs VERY little things and therefore is cheap to make.

Raspberry Pi 3b+ - you can use any other Raspberry Pi but I had this one on hand.

Raspberry Pi camera module - this is the camera we will use to stream the video.

Cardboard box - put everything inside to make the camera look neater.

Tape - we will mount everything inside the box with tape.

Power adapter - to power the Pi (you can also put a power bank inside the box, but you won't be able to stream for very long).

SD card - to put a Raspbian image on.

(OPTIONAL) Paint - I painted the box to make it look better.

Now that we have everything we need, it's time to program the Pi to start streaming.

Step 1: Add a Raspbian image to your SD card

Step 2: Plug your Pi into power and connect it to your WiFi

Step 2.5: Connect the Raspberry Pi camera module to your Raspberry Pi

Step 3: Enable VNC and connect to the Pi with your computer (this will make working with the Pi easier in the future)

Step 4: Download VLC. To do this, go to the terminal and type: sudo apt-get install vlc

Step 5: Go to the terminal and type: raspivid -o - -t 0 -hf -w 800 -h 400 -fps 24 |cvlc -vvv stream:///dev/stdin --sout '#standard{access=http,mux=ts,dst=:8160}' :demux=h264

-This is the command to begin the stream, you can change stuff like FPS and the resolution here-

HOW TO VIEW THE STREAM:

Open VLC on any device and go to Open Network.

Enter your Pi's IP address (you can see it in VNC viewer) into the URL tab. Enter it like this http://yourIPaddress:8160 (replace yourIPaddress with the IP address of your Pi) (duh).

Hit open.

Now you should be able to see the stream.

So now that your stream is working, put the Pi and camera into the cardboard box.

Make a hole for the camera and tape it in place.

Also put some tape on the edges of your Pi to stop it from sliding around in the box.

You will also need to cut a hole for the power cable.

I spray painted my box black but this is completely optional.

So that's it! Within like 30 minutes you made a security camera that streams via VLC to all your devices. Hopefully you had fun making this project and learned something new. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below!

And I'll hopefully see you in my next Instructable, bye!