Hi everyone, I wanted to share my experience with setting up camera automation using MQTT and Deepstack AI. It’s been a fantastic journey, and I hope my insights can help others looking to streamline their smart home setups.
I’ve been using Blue Iris with Deepstack AI and a MQTT server on HomeAssistant for motion detection. The setup is quite impressive—Deepstack can detect objects like people, dogs, and cats, and sends this info to HomeAssistant via MQTT. I’ve configured different topics for each camera, and the payload changes based on what’s detected. This level of customization is really powerful!
My main goal was to create notifications for multiple cameras and payloads without having to set up an automation for each one. I managed to achieve this by using dynamic variables in my automations. For example, instead of hardcoding camera names or detected objects, I use placeholders like TOPIC and PAYLOAD. This approach allows me to handle multiple scenarios with a single automation, saving a lot of time and effort.
Here’s a quick look at how my automation works:
markdown
- Service: Telegram Bot
Message: PAYLOAD detected on TOPIC! - Service: Camera Snapshot
Filename: /tmp/image.jpg
Entity ID: camera.TOPIC - Service: Mobile App Notification
Message: PAYLOAD detected TOPIC - Service: Gmail Notification
Message: PAYLOAD was detected on TOPIC at {{ current time }}.
This setup sends me notifications whenever motion is detected, along with a snapshot. It’s incredibly useful for monitoring different areas of my home. I’ve also been able to customize the messages to include specific details, which makes the notifications much more informative.
One thing I’d like to explore further is improving the payload text. Right now, it’s pretty basic, but I’m hoping to add more descriptive language in the future. For example, instead of just saying “A DOG was detected OUT BACK,” I might want it to say something like “A dog was detected near the backyard fence.”
Overall, I’m really happy with how this setup is working. It’s made my home security much more efficient and has given me peace of mind. If anyone has tips or suggestions for further improvements, I’d love to hear them!
Cheers,
[Your Name]