DALES

I am a currently in my final year of a product design course. I am looking at developing a spy hole camera system which would be mounted to your door with a small screen attached on the inside. From what I have seen similar systems exist but most are expensive, temperamental and generally require a pc to record video or if not, even further expense in the form of a DVR. I would like to develop a complete, reasonably priced system that would be easy to install and use. The camera would be activated by motion sensors and the signal sent both to the display on the inside of the door as well as a DVR for recording. This would be accessible by both your TV as well as operating in the same way as a USB drive would on your computer. I would be interested to find out other people onions as to whether : • A market/need for this system exists • The screen mounted on the inside of the door would be a worthwhile feature Any other comments especially from owners of existing systems would be greatly appreciated Dale

As far as storage was concerned I was a little unsure about using an SD card within the door mounted device, my only reason being should the property be broken into it would be easy for the intruder to find the surveillance videos. What do you think? I like the flash memory suggestion as I think it is cheap and widely accessible but am considering having it stored on an external drive accessed via wireless link to avoid the above issue. I do however like the idea of being able to view the recorded videos on the same screen attached to the door which would then require a 2 way link between the external drive and door unit, both to record and access stored clips eliminating the need for an extra pc/tv to use the system. The external drive could also be used to provide a pc/tv link should users desire it allowing them to see who’s at there door from the comfort of their sofa. Initially I liked the idea of a powerline system, it something I was not aware of, however, if two houses are running on the same phase, would it not be possible for both to few the broadcast video? Another feature I like the idea of is providing an internet link to the camera and a microphone and speaker. Say a delivery turns up at home when you’re at work, when the camera picks up the visitor and window pops up on your computer giving you the possibility to talk to the post/delivery man from your work computer. The recording feature is something I had previously thought of, although I was a bit unsure about whether or not it would get used with mobile phones providing the majority of messaging services. I also like the idea of making the system upgradeable, having one central hub to control a variety of features all accessible/controllable from one place.