I have a couple of ideas of things I would like to have happen if there is motion outside my window… is there any motion detectors that work through a glass window???
Yea, video cameras. Video camera motion detection, classically, detect motion by pixel changes.
PIRs will not since they detect IR which is heat and the heat won’t traverse the window from the warm object (body).
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dang… I have Blink camera’s and very happy with the price point… but I know they don’t work through a window… that was actually one of the things I wanted to do… have the motion sensor set off the Blink.
The Blink uses a PIR sensor, you need a camera with video motion detection.
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I don’t know blink, but the the motion detection is software based. Systems like Blue Iris, for example, that consume camera output can watch the feed and detect pixel changes.
Often camera or camera systems have such software capabilities built in as well.
These exist, some for under $50, but you would have to wire it to something that would then notify SmartThings, like a contact sensor or the Aeotec dry contacts device.
They use “microwave” technology, which means they are detecting existing frequencies, not transmitting, so it’s not a safety issue.
As to why they’re not more popular–depending on your exact set up, you may get a lot A false alarms, way more than a PIR sensor.
But there are some good brands that make them, including NAPCO and Honeywell, often as a “dual Sensor” that also has PIR. You want to be careful about the dual Sensor ones because if they are using the PIR to confirm what the microwave sensor detected, you won’t get any alarm because PIR doesn’t travel through glass.
I would agree that the camera technology is likely to be much more successful in most residential set up’s, although it’s definitely more expensive.
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