IoT/Security Currently working on
Sentinel
A professional security camera streaming dashboard for Raspberry Pi with multi-camera support, motion detection, and recording capabilities.
Overview
Sentinel is a futuristic security camera streaming dashboard built for Raspberry Pi. It supports multiple camera types (Pi cameras and RTSP/IP network cameras), provides live streaming, motion detection, and organized recording management.
Features
- Multi-Camera Support: Pi cameras and RTSP/IP network cameras
- Live Streaming: Real-time MJPEG video streaming with grid view
- Motion Detection: Automatic recording triggered by motion with configurable sensitivity
- Manual Recording: On-demand video recording with thumbnail generation
- Dark/Light Theme: Toggle between themes with persistence
- Mobile Responsive: Full mobile support with hamburger menu navigation
- Authentication: Secure login system with session management
- Per-Camera Storage: Organized recordings by camera (recordings/cam1/, recordings/cam2/)
- RTSP Reconnection: Exponential backoff reconnection strategy (1s→30s) with visual indicators
- Glassmorphism UI: Modern dark theme with translucent elements
Pages
| Route | Description |
|---|---|
/ | Main dashboard with live camera feed |
/recordings | Browse and playback recorded videos |
/settings | Configure motion detection |
/devices | Camera status and management |
/login | Authentication page |
Camera Configuration
Supports two camera types:
- picamera: Raspberry Pi camera module with configurable resolution and framerate
- rtsp: Network/IP cameras with environment variable credential substitution
Motion Detection Settings
Per-camera configuration stored in motion_config.json:
enabled- Enable/disable motion detectionsensitivity- Motion sensitivity threshold (1-100)cooldown- Seconds between motion recordingsbuffer_seconds- Pre-motion buffer duration
Security Features
- Session-based authentication
- HTTP-only secure cookies
- CSRF protection via SameSite cookies
- Environment variable credential storage
- No hardcoded passwords in source
Challenges
Building Sentinel involved:
- Reliable RTSP stream handling with automatic reconnection
- Efficient motion detection without excessive CPU usage
- Synchronized multi-camera streaming and recording
- Secure authentication for remote access
Outcomes
Sentinel provides a professional, self-hosted security camera solution that runs efficiently on Raspberry Pi hardware.