instructables

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam

by Giovanni Aggiustatutto

Today we are going to build this video surveillance camera that costs only 5€, like a pizza or an hamburger. This camera is
connected to WiFi, so we will be able to control our home or what the camera sees from the phone anywhere, either on
the local network or from outside. We will also add a motor that makes the camera move, so we can increase the angle
that the camera can look. In addition to being used as a security camera, a camera like this can be used for many other
purposes, such as checking to see if a 3D printer is working properly to stop it in case of problems. But now, let's get
started!
To see more details about this project, watch the video on my YouTube channel (it is in Italian but it has English
subtitles).
Supplies:

To build this camera we will need the ESP32 cam board, the tiny camera that is given with it, and a usb-to-serial adapter.
The ESP32 cam board is a regular ESP32 with this little camera on it, all in one pcb. For those who don't know, the ESP32 is
a programmable board similar to an Arduino, but with a much more powerful chip and the ability to connect to WiFi. This
is why I have used the ESP32 for various smart home projects in the past. As I told you before the ESP32 cam board costs
about €5 on Aliexpress.
In addidtion to this, we will need:
a servo motor, which a motor that is able to reach a speci c angle that is communicated to it by the
microcontroller
some wires

Tools:
soldering iron (optional)
3D printer (optional)

To see what the camera sees from the phone or computer and to take pictures we will use Home Assistant and
ESPhome, but we will talk about that later.

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 1

https://youtu.be/7p3-0brmEMo

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 2

Step 1: Preparing ESP32-cam

First you have to connect the camera to the board with the small connector, which is very fragile. Once you put the
connector in you can lower the lever. Then I attached the camera on top of the board with a piece of double-sided tape.
The ESP32 cam also has the ability to insert a micro SD, and although we will not use it today it allows us to take pictures
and save them directly there.

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 3

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 4
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 5
Step 2: Uploading Code

Usually Arduino and ESP boards also have a usb socket to load the program from the computer. However, this one does
not have a usb socket, so to connect it to the computer to load the program you need a usb-to-serial adapter, which
communicates with the chip directly through the pins. The one I found is made speci cally for this type of board, so it
simply connects to the pins without having to make any other connections. However, universal usb-to-serial adapters
should also be ne. To load the program you also have to connect pin 0 to ground. To do this I soldered a jumper
connector to these two pins. So when I need to program the board I just put a jumper between the two pins.

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 6

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 7
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 8
Step 3: Connecting the Camera to Home Assistant

But now let's take a look at the software that will operate the camera. As I told you before, the camera will be connected
to Home Assistant. Home Assistant is a home automation system that works locally which allows us to control all our
home automation devices like smart bulbs and sockets from one interface.
To run Home Assistant I use and old Windows PC running a virtual machine, but if you have it you can use a Raspberry pi,
which consumes less power. To see the data from your smartphone you can download the Home Assistant app. To
connect from outside the local network I'm using the Nabu Casa Cloud, which is the simplest solution but it's not free.
There are other solutions but they are not totally safe.
So from the Home Assistant app we will be able to see the camera live video. To connect the camera to Home Assistant
we will use ESPhome. ESPhome is an add-on that allows us to connect ESP boards to Home Assistant via WiFi. To connect
the ESP32-cam to ESPhome you can follow these steps:
Install the ESPhome plugin in Home Assistant
On ESPhome's dashboard, click on New device and on Continue
Give your device a name
Select ESP8266 or the board you used
Copy the encryption key that is given, we will need it later

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 9

 Click on EDIT to see the device's code
Under esp32: paste this code (with framework: and type: commented)

esp32:
board: esp32cam
#framework:
# type: arduino

Under wi , insert your wi ssid and password

To make the connection more stable, you can give the board a static IP address, with this code:

wifi:
ssid: yourssid
password: yourwifipassword

manual_ip:
# Set this to the IP of the ESP
static_ip: 192.168.1.61
# Set this to the IP address of the router. Often ends with .1
gateway: 192.168.1.1
# The subnet of the network. 255.255.255.0 works for most home networks.
subnet: 255.255.255.0

At the end of the code, paste this one:

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 10

 esp32_camera:
name: Telecamera 1
external_clock:
pin: GPIO0
frequency: 20MHz
i2c_pins:
sda: GPIO26
scl: GPIO27
data_pins: [GPIO5, GPIO18, GPIO19, GPIO21, GPIO36, GPIO39, GPIO34, GPIO35]
vsync_pin: GPIO25
href_pin: GPIO23
pixel_clock_pin: GPIO22
power_down_pin: GPIO32
resolution: 800x600
jpeg_quality: 10
vertical_flip: False

output:
- platform: gpio
pin: GPIO4
id: gpio_4

- platform: ledc
id: pwm_output
pin: GPIO2
frequency: 50 Hz

light:
- platform: binary
output: gpio_4
name: Luce telecamera 1

number:
- platform: template
name: Servo Control
min_value: -100
max_value: 100
step: 1
optimistic: true
set_action:
then:
- servo.write:
id: my_servo
level: !lambda 'return x / 100.0;'

servo:
- id: my_servo
output: pwm_output
transition_length: 5s

The rst part of the code, under esp32_camera:, de nes all the pins for the actual camera. Then with light: is de ned the
camera's led. At the end of the code is de ned the servo motor, and the value used by the servo to set the rotation angle
is read from Home Assistant with number:.
In the end the code should look like this, but not paste directly the code below, to every device is given a di erent
encryption key.
esphome:
name: camera-1

esp32:
board: esp32cam
#framework:
# type: arduino

# Enable logging
logger:
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 11
logger:

# Enable Home Assistant API

api:
encryption:
key: "encryptionkey"

ota:
password: "password"

wifi:
ssid: "yourssid"
password: "yourpassword"

# Enable fallback hotspot (captive portal) in case wifi connection fails

ap:
ssid: "Camera-1 Fallback Hotspot"
password: "password"

captive_portal:

esp32_camera:
name: Telecamera 1
external_clock:
pin: GPIO0
frequency: 20MHz
i2c_pins:
sda: GPIO26
scl: GPIO27
data_pins: [GPIO5, GPIO18, GPIO19, GPIO21, GPIO36, GPIO39, GPIO34, GPIO35]
vsync_pin: GPIO25
href_pin: GPIO23
pixel_clock_pin: GPIO22
power_down_pin: GPIO32
resolution: 800x600
jpeg_quality: 10
vertical_flip: False

output:
- platform: gpio
pin: GPIO4
id: gpio_4

- platform: ledc
id: pwm_output
pin: GPIO2
frequency: 50 Hz

light:
- platform: binary
output: gpio_4
name: Luce telecamera 1

number:
- platform: template
name: Servo Control
min_value: -100
max_value: 100
step: 1
optimistic: true
set_action:
then:
- servo.write:
id: my_servo
level: !lambda 'return x / 100.0;'

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 12

 servo:
- id: my_servo
output: pwm_output
transition_length: 5s

After the code is complete, we can click on Install, connect the serial adapter of the ESP32 to our
computer with an USB cable and follow the instructions on screen to upload the code like you have seen
in the last step (it's pretty easy!)
When the ESP32-cam is connected to the WiFi, we can go to the Home Assistant settings, where we will
probably see that Home Assistant has discovered the new device
Click on con gure and paste there the encryption key you have copied before.

Once the program is loaded you can remove the jumper between ground and pin 0, and power up the board (if the
jumper is not removed the board won't work). If you look at the device's logs, you should see that the ESP32-cam
connects to the WiFi. In the following steps we will see how to con gure the Home Assistant dashboard to see the live
video from the camera, to move the motor and to take photos from the camera.

Step 4: Connections

Once we have programmed the ESP32 we can remove the usb to serial adapter and power the board directly from the 5v
pin. And at this point the camera only lacks an enclosure in which to mount it. However, leaving the camera standing still
is boring, so I decided to add a motor to make it move. Speci cally, I will use a servo motor, which is able to reach a
speci c angle that is communicated to it by the ESP32. I connected the brown and red wires of the servomotor to the
power supply, and the yellow wire which is the signal to pin 2 of ESP32. In the picture above you can nd the schematics.
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 13
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 14
Step 5: Building the Enclosure

Now I need to turn the test circuit into something that looks more like a nished product. So I designed and 3D printed
all the parts to make the little box in which to mount the camera. Below you can nd the .stl les for 3D printing.
Then soldered the wires for the power supply and servo motor signal to the pins on the ESP32. To connect the
servomotor connector, I soldered a jumper connector to the wires. So the circuit is nished, and as you can see it is quite
simple.
I ran the servomotor and power wires through the holes on the little box. Then I glued the ESP32 cam to the cover,
aligning the camera with the hole. I mounted the servo motor on the bracket that will hold the camera up, and secured it
with two bolts. I attached the bracket to the small box with two screws, so that the camera could be tilted. To prevent the
screws inside from touching the cables, I protected them with heat shrink tubing. Then I closed the cover with the
camera with four screws. At this point it only remains to assemble the base. I ran the servo motor shaft through the hole
in the base, and screwed the small arm to the shaft. Then I glued the arm to the base. This way the servomotor is able to
move the camera 180 degrees.
And so we nished building the camera. To power it we can use any 5v power supply. Using the holes in the base, we can
screw the camera to a wall or wooden surface.

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 15

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 16
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 17
Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 18
 View in 3D Download
https://www.instructables.com/F4Q/THF3/LE1ECREO/F4QTHF3LE1ECREO.stl

Step 6: Setting Up Home Assistant Dashboard

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 19

To see the live video from the camera, move the motor, turn the led on and move the motor from the Home Assistant
interface we need four cards in the dashboard of Home Assistant.
The rst one is a picture glance card, that allows to see the live video from the camera. In the card's
settings, just select the camera's entity and set Camera View to auto (this is important because if you set it
to live the camera always sends the video and overheats).
Then we need a button to take photos from the camera. This is a bit more di cult. First we have to go in
the File Editor add-on (if you don't have it you can install it from the add-on store) in the con g folder and
create a new folder to save the photos, in this case called camera. The code for the text editor for the
button is below.

show_name: true
show_icon: true
type: button
tap_action:
action: call-service
service: camera.snapshot
data:
filename: /config/camera/telecamera_1_{{ now().strftime("%Y-%m-%d-%H:%M:%S") }}.jpg
#change the entity name above with the name of the entity of your camera
target:
entity_id:
- camera.telecamera_1 #change the entity name with the name of the entity of your camera
name: Take photo
icon_height: 50px
icon: mdi:camera
hold_action:
action: none

The camera also has an led, even if it is not capable of lighting an entire room. For this I used an other
button card, that toggles the led's entity when it is pressed.
The last card is an entities card, that I set up with the servo motor entity. So with this card we have a very
simple slider to control the angle of the motor and to move the camera.

I organized my cards in a vertical stack and in a horizontal stack, but this is totally optional. However your dashboard
should look similar to the one shown in the picture above. Of course you can customize the cards even more, to meet
your needs.

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 20

Step 7: It Works!

Finally, the camera works, and on the Home Assistant app I can see what the camera sees in real time. From the app I can
also make the camera move by moving the slider, to look at a larger space. As I said before the camera also has an LED,
although the light it makes does not allow you to see at night. From the app you can take pictures from the camera, but
you cannot take videos. The pictures taken can be seen in the folder we have created before in Home Assistant. To take
the camera to the next level, you can connect the camera to a motion sensor or a door opening sensor, which when it
detects motion will take a picture with the camera.
So, this is the ESP32 cam security camera. It is not the most advanced camera, but for this price you can't nd anything
better. I hope you enjoyed this guide, and maybe you found it useful. To see more details about this project, you can nd
the video on my YouTube channel (it is in Italian but it has English subtitles).

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 21

Super Cheap Security Camera With ESP32-cam: Page 22