Can a SecuritySpy camera trigger a HomeKit device via Homehelper?
I'd like to have a HomeKit light come on when motion is detected by a SecuritySpy camera. So far I see Homehelper working in the opposite way - a HomeKit device triggering a SecuritySpy camera.
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Yes, this is possible. HomeHelper works both ways: it can trigger recording in SecuritySpy based on an event in a Home accessory, and it can control a Home accessory based on motion detection in SecuritySpy.
Here's how to set this up:
- Set up an Action in HomeHelper that turns on a light
- Select this as the HomeKit Action in SecuritySpy for the camera in question
- Make sure that Actions mode is armed for this camera
More information can be found in the user manual under HomeKit Integration.
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Ben can you set it up such that Action (light coming on) is triggered by motion detected in camera only at night? Thanks
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Yes - for this to happen, set the Actions schedule to "Armed Sunset To Sunrise". You can set the Actions schedule by clicking on the "A" indicator next to this camera in the Camera Info window or in any video window.
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But I still want the camera to record motion during the day as well as night, but to trigger the light to come on only at night. UNLESS I can set an action schedule separate from motion capture schedule. I'll give that a try in Schedule Presets. Thanks
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You can set a different schedule for Motion Capture mode vs. Actions mode. So it sounds like you'll want to set the "Armed 24/7" schedule for Motion Capture mode (the "M" indicator) and the "Armed Sunset To Sunrise" schedule for Actions mode (the "A" indicator).
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I have it set up. Motion in camera does Action in Homehelper by turning on HomeKit light, but the light doesn't turn off even though I specify Reset After 2 minutes. I'm just using the Schedule Preset for the camera sunset/sunrise.
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I also find that the light is triggered even though SecuritySpy does not record a motion event.
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In terms of the light not turning off, does this fail to happen all the time, or is this just inconsistent? We'll have to look into this.
If the light is triggered, then you know that the trigger is coming into SecuritySpy correctly. In this case, if Motion Capture is armed, and you have a recording option enabled (e.g. "Capture movie in response to motion trigger" under Preferences Cameras Motion Capture), then you will get a recorded file, unless there is some error preventing this.
So the things to check are:
- Make sure that Motion Capture mode is armed (e.g. using the schedule "Armed 24/7")
- Make sure there are no errors preventing the capture (check the log, available from the File menu)
- Make sure there is enough space on your disk for recorded files, so they aren't being automatically deleted soon after creation.
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Motion Capture is armed
08/16/2021 21:04:31: Audio for camera "Backdoor", has been disabled due to an error from the audio device. 5.3.4,9100,998 Failed to obtain audio from network device.
I have audio turned off in SecuritySpy. Audio Device = None
Dedicated computer with 99GB free.
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No log errors in September. Disk space now available is over 400GB.
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Hi @Richinwal I can't tell from the above what the cause of your recording issue is. So that we can help you with this further, please email us and include a debug file (SecuritySpy menu > Debug > Create Debug File On Desktop), and we will check all your settings.
In terms of the light not turning off, does this fail to happen all the time, or is this just inconsistent?
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Ben, motion action triggers the light to go on, but I have no video recorded of the motion event. The light stays on until I manually turn it off. This occurs all the time so I just end up disabling the Action. I just had the light go on so I'll send another debug file here:
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Thanks for the information. Debug files received (I have removed them from your post in case they contain any sensitive information). I will take a look and will get back to you.
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Update:
We’ve working on some changes to HomeHelper that I should make the reset more reliable - this will be out soon as an update via the app store and I will let you know when this happens.
In terms of triggering recording, it does look like you have the schedules and recording options set up correctly, but your trigger settings for Motion Capture and Actions are different, which explains what you are seeing:
The way you have it set up, all motion will trigger Actions. So even if the motion is caused by (for example) a shadow or a leaf blowing in front of the camera, this will trigger Actions (and therefore the HomeKit light).
But, for Motion Capture, you have enabled the Human AI detector, which means that only human detections will trigger recording.
Therefore, it is possible with your current settings for motion to trigger Actions but not Motion Capture recording - and in fact this will probably happen quite often.
Instead, if you want recordings of all motion, not just humans, you should un-tick all AI checkboxes under Preferences > Cameras > Triggers for this camera. On the other hand, if you are only interested in human detection, then you should enable the Human AI checkbox for both Actions and Motion Capture - this will dramatically cut down the number of false-positive detections that you would get with motion detection alone.
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Thanks Ben, I will make the adjustments and look forward to the "reset" update. Richard
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Ben, I made the setting changes you suggested and everything seems to be working correctly. The light turns off (resets) in 2 minutes. thanks Richard
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Great to hear that. And hopefully the upcoming HomeHelper update will make the reset that much more reliable.
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Ben unfortunately the light coming on Action happens during the day even though I have a Schedule preset for sunset to sunrise.
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Schedule presets allow you to set up different sets of schedules for your cameras for different situations, but they then need to be applied by selecting them from the Control menu. The classic example is a "Home" and an "Away" preset, which defiles different sets of schedules for when you are at home and when you are away: when you come home, you apply the Home preset and when you are away you apply the Away preset.
It doesn't sound like you need to use schedule presets at all - simply click the "A" indicator (for Actions) next to this camera in the Camera Info window or any video windows, and set its schedule to "Armed Sunset To Sunrise".
You can read more about how schedules and schedule preset works in the user manual at Recording and Schedules.
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Ok I get it. On another topic. I can't send you a video clip, but you can see that a bug entered the field of view and triggered the camera and turned on the light. I have AI set to human and animal. Why would a bug trigger it? Thanks
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Our AI object detectors are very accurate, but nothing is 100% accurate. They are more like 97% accurate. So if you have 100 motion detection events of bugs/snow/rain/shadows etc. in a particular day, you can expect 3 or so to get past the AI and cause a trigger.
The best way you can help us to improve our AI algorithms is to allow your cameras to send us anonymous images, for us to use to train future versions of our AI. You can do this using the option in the General Preferences in SecuritySpy.
