Hey everyone, I wanted to share a fun DIY project I recently completed—a smart pet feeder with a camera and laser! I’ve always been into home automation, and when I got two cats, I knew I needed a reliable feeder that could be controlled via Home Assistant. Plus, I wanted something a bit more advanced than the store-bought options, so I decided to build my own.The feeder I built includes a Web interface, a camera mounted on a gimbal for monitoring, and a laser pointer for playtime. It’s a bit larger than store-bought models, but the height was necessary to get a good camera view. I used the Rpi_Cam_Web_Interface project as a starting point, which provided a great foundation for camera integration. I added a frame with buttons to control the camera position and wrote a Python script to handle motor and servo control, as well as network access for remote control.Here’s a quick breakdown of the components I used:- Raspberry Pi 4- Raspberry Pi Camera with night vision- 3V Relay Power Switch Board- 5V Worm Geared Motor- 2 Micro Servos- Gimbal with 2 servos- Long cable for the camera- 5V 2A power supply- Jumper wiresI also integrated the feeder into Home Assistant using a custom card setup. This allows my wife to monitor and control the feeder via the Home Assistant interface, which is especially handy when we’re traveling. The feeder uses a cron job for scheduled feeding, but I’ve also set up a simple interface in Home Assistant to manually trigger feeds or start the laser pointer.One of the challenges I faced was getting the camera and motor controls to work seamlessly. I had to experiment with different servo angles and motor timings to ensure smooth operation. Another challenge was setting up the network interface and ensuring that everything was accessible via the VPN. Thankfully, the community forums and documentation were incredibly helpful in troubleshooting these issues.If you’re looking to embark on a similar project, here are a few tips:1. Plan your wiring carefully to avoid interference with the camera and motor.2. Use a sturdy frame to ensure the feeder is stable, especially when the motor is running.3. Test each component individually before integrating them into the final system.4. Don’t hesitate to reach out to the community for help; there are plenty of knowledgeable folks who are more than willing to assist!This project has been a fantastic learning experience, and I’m thrilled with how it turned out. My cats love the laser pointer, and it gives me peace of mind knowing that they’re well-fed even when I’m not home. If you have any questions or suggestions, feel free to drop a comment—I’d love to hear from you!