BalconyPatrol
Solar-powered DIY project. Captures wildlife, deters unwanted visitors, and recognises residents.
Three jobs
🌿
Protects the plants
Scares off visitors who chew, dig, or knock things over — only the species you choose.
🐾
Pet-safe by default
Household cats and dogs always get a pass. Per-species rules, opt-in deterrents.
📸
Logs every visitor
Squirrels, birds, raccoons, the occasional surprise. Every good frame becomes a post.
Behind the build
- Edge device: ESP32-S3 camera with PIR motion wake. Sub-second wake-to-shutter, weeks on a small solar panel.
- AI vision: every frame is classified, residents are recognised, and only meaningful events make it through.
- Your rules: per-species behaviour — log only, alert, or trigger a gentle audio/visual deterrent.
- Notifications: Telegram bot for alerts and a gallery of visiting animals.
- Open device, hosted cloud: firmware will be open source; the managed monitoring stays at balconypatrol.com.