[OBSOLETE] ArloPilot - Enhanced Arlo System Integration

you need to publish the device handler

New image shows up when I go to app but on my tiles itā€™s broken

So last few days I went to app and get new url of image to add as media (may be I am doing it wrong) and it worked.

How do I get media tiles url ?

Mavrrick,

Thanks for the reply! Still no joyā€¦

I ā€œpublishedā€ the ArloPilot Device Automation under the Device Handlers. I logged out of Arlo and logged back in. Still get a ā€œfalseā€ when trying to access external link in browser.

I did not ā€œpublishā€ the ArloPilot Device Automation or Arlo Pilot Mode Automation under My SmartApps.

Never mind - I figured it out.

The Installation Instructions at the top of this thread seem to have a mistake in them for the ā€œCopy/Pasteā€ section.

The ā€œGitHub Integrationā€ section states to install the following in the My Device Handlers section:
ā€œdevicetypes/shackrat/arlopilotcameratile.src/arlopilotcameratile.groovyā€ - which is correct

The ā€œCopy/Pasteā€ section states to install the following in the My Device Handlers section:
ā€œsmartapps/shackrat/arlopilot-device-automation.src/arlopilot-device-automation.groovyā€ - which is incorrect

Once I deleted the incorrect reference and installed the correct one, all works and no more ā€œfalseā€!

Mavrrick
I made sure I follow all steps but Media Tiles image url after each day changes

A few things. Typically you donā€™t want to force a refresh if there is not enough activity for the camera to actually trigger a recording. That just burns battery. If that isnā€™t a problem there is a small app out there that can trigger the camera to trigger either on intervals or at mode change. You may want to look at that.

If you have activity and the image tile doesnā€™t appear to be updating check the thing for the camera Arlo Pilot created. You will have an option in the settings for the device that specifies the refresh interval. You may want to make sure that is either not set at all or has a reasonable valueā€¦

@Mavrrick58 My smartthings app showing all pictures on all camera.
I think you are not understanding what I am having issues. My mediatiles url showing no image, how do I get mediatiles image url so it shows latest url?
Current url :(I removed some url for privacy:
https://arlolastimage-z2.s3.amazonaws.com/6ed4f798_f3b1_476d_acf7_f5377db5b13c/6H23-336-6814159/4PY1697XA4D3A/lastImage.jpg?AWSAccessKeyId=XXXXXXXXXXXX&Expires=1544658054&Signature=XXXXXX

So when add them on ActionTiles it doesnt show imageā€¦

I use external access tiles myself and use them from Action tiles as well. I do get it. I review my cameras through Action Tiles frequently.

With that said though it appears you have both the Arlo pilot created devices listed in Action tiles and the Images. I would have no expectation of the Arlo pilot image device showing anything in Action tiles. I donā€™t even know if action tiles supports that type of thing. Assuming you have external access setup correctly and you have the Arlo devices in Smartthings setup to refresh every so often then they should get you new images for the my media tiles in the lower section of your browser. I have noticed sometimes browser cache will keep new images from showing so that could also be a issue.

My question is lets get down to basics.

  1. In the smartthings app do you have external access turned on for Arlo Pilot.
  2. When you click on button in Arlopilot to show the Arlo cameras and then click on the camera do you get a valid link. and if so can you take that link and put it in a browser and have the image show up.

I would check this. Based on what you have above. It doesnā€™t seem to me you have a correct URL. When i look at the URL the app gives me it starts with the Smartthings IDE.

thank you.

  1. In the smartthings app do you have external access turned on for Arlo Pilot. >> It wasnt on, I configure it and its on now.

Did you ever figure out how to get images to show on the Arlo camera tiles in Action Tiles. What I mean is were do you get the URL for the images?

Yes I got it now , letā€™s see if they expire after today

What url do I use for the media tile in action tiles.

Go to Smarthings Classic App
AUTOMATION
Arlopilot
ArloCameras
Select Camera
Open In Browser
Copy URl and paste on your Media Tiles with same name

got it thanks

Great work on this. Thanks!!! Have had it up and running for a day or two and itā€™s working great and as I intended minus one small setting Iā€™m trying to get figured out. Currently I have my Arlo Proā€™s set to arm/disarm based on Smartthings mode status (armed when away and night and disarmed when home). Works great using voice commands on my Google Home Mini as well as mode status changes based on mobile presence. However, Iā€™m trying to find a way to turn the cameras off, not just set to not record on motion, when my mode status triggers the unit to disarm. Do not see this option in any of the settings when Iā€™m in the ArloPilot app under synchronize modes. Also tried to setup a custom mode thinking that might accomplish what Iā€™m looking for, but no luck there either. The ONLY reason I want to turn the cameras completely off while disarmed is to save battery. But Iā€™ve only had my cameras setup for a few days, so not sure if this is even necessary regarding battery life. Thoughts?

Second question I have is regarding the Arlo Cameras integrated within Smartthings. Currently my cameras are not integrated in Smartthings, just through the ArloPilot app. Iā€™m wanting to use the cameras as motion detectors to trigger specific smart bulbs I have on my front and back porch, basically turning them into motion lights. Iā€™ve read many times that Arlo doesnā€™t play too well with Smartthings. ArloPilot has solved that problem though. Now that I have my cameras setup using ArloPilot the way I want, If I add my cameras into Smartthings as motion sensors, will that in anyway screw with what I currently have setup in ArloPilot?

Once you setup the Arlo Cloud integration with Smartthings you can control many aspects of your Arlo Cameraā€™s, and use them as Audio and motion sensors. What you will want to remember though is that Smartthings can only control the currently attached mode, and Smartthings will create itā€™s own custom mode when you setup the integration.

As a general rule i have always told people pick one method to control your arlo devices. Either with Arlopilot and use modes, or use a single mode and do all of your configuration and management of the cameras from Smartthings. I prefer Arlopilot.

As far as using your cameras for motion or audio detection that works pretty good. You just have to remember that your cameras have to be turned on to do both. So remember that will impact your battery usage. This is why initially I used Arlo Q cameras that were powered and not wirefree. A side note for using it with lights is that a light turning on and off can be detected as motion, I had a camera being used to activate my under cabinet lights for a while and found that they lights were always on. Simply put the act of the lights turning off was enough change to trigger the cameras to indicate there was motion and to trigger them to reactivate. So just keep that in mind when using the cameras to trigger lights in a place they monitor.

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Gotcha. Since I have things already setup in ArloPilot using modes, Iā€™d prefer to keep things as is. Not sure if that will be possible though if I plan to use my cameras as motion sensors within Smartthings?

So for motion detection my cameras will have to be armed to perform that function in Smartthings? They would not function as motion sensors if disarmed but still physically on? Still trying to find a way to completely turn off the cameras when the mode changes and switches the base station to unarmed. This might not be possible though?

Makes sense regarding the motion lighting. I currently have 1 camera setup on my front porch (waiting for outdoor mounts for my other 2) that is perpendicular to my front door with a porch light right beside it. The light goes on at 35% 45 minutes to sunset and shuts off at 15 minutes past sunrise. It also fades to 100% if the front door is open and then fades back to 35% after the door is closed for 10 minutes. This doesnā€™t effect the motion detection of that camera at all. But at those times there is already plenty of ambient light and the fading might be helpful as well. Might be a different story with my back porch lights that I would setup to turn on from off when motion is detected and then turn back off after a set amount of time. Would be a much more drastic change in lighting level. Could try the same with fading to hopefully not trigger the motion sensor of the camera. My third camera will be facing my rec room door/driveway. I have a pretty bright LED motion light mounted beside that door. Hopefully that light wonā€™t cause the same issue with triggering motion!!

That is certainly possible. I use mine as motion sensors in Smartthings and use Arlo Pilot. The key is just to remember when you setup the Camera integration to make sure you get the Arlo Cloud back to the state you want it to be. This is likely just a matter of changing it back to the mode you had it in prior to going through the integration process.

I think this may be a confusion of terminology. The arlo cloud and modes donā€™t really have a terminology for turned off. As far as arlo is concerned turned off is when either the base station is in a disarmed mode, the camera is not part of the mode, or the camera does not do anything or look for activity. When you setup the modes that are not disarmed, you decide which cameras are part of the mode, and what action they will take and what will trigger them. If a camera is not part of the mode then it is not active. Also if the camera is does not monitor for something then it is not actively looking ahead for actions. Lastly if it is does not have an action in that mode then it will not record. You could have a mode that has the camera configured, but does not do anything, or create notifications, and is simply there. That would allow Smartthings to use it and and for automations but not actively record or do actions in the arlo cloud.

In smartthings the cameras do have the switch capability. That means you can control weather they are considered turned on or off in way. I would think you can configure the modes to do what you want, but this is a option as well. Just remember if you start to manage them in Smartthings then you could have some wonkyness with them as Smartthings tends to update other parameters as well when you do configuration changes on the cameras.

This is spot on. It is about how the cameras detect motion. Video cameras tend to use a combination of PIR and video Analysis for changes to determine motion. Enough ambient light could prevent that from being a issue. I am thinking of situations that occur at night. I have a camera on my front door as well. If i walk to the front of the house and trigger the lights to turn on just inside the door my front patio gets enough light through the blinds to trigger my camera. This is from being pitch black so a big change. The condition for the kitchen in my first example was going from having some light to none. During the day it wasnā€™t a problem, but at night i found that the kitchen camera with the Arlo Q camera would almost always trigger a motion event when the lights went off. I fixed that condition by simply using a PIR only Motion sensor. Now it works perfectly except that sensors range is a bit less then the cameras.

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Cool, thanks. That all makes perfect sense.