O/T Remote webcam

[superflid]

Seeing how 3/4 of PH'ers are IT specialists, could someone please give me some advice.
I have been asked by a friend if it would be possible to set up a webcam connected to a mobile phone, which could be accessed remotely. The purpose of this is to "keep an eye" on his boat in Suffolk, while living in the midlands.
Any ideas, or is he as mad as I think?

[philshort]

Barking!

We're not quite there yet with 3G, so moving images are not an option. Stills possibly, not sure if any phones out there have good enough resolution yet.

Anyway ... the webcam would need to be connected to a PC to interface to the web, unless it was a very expensive one with built in web server - either way thats a lot of hardware to go missing as well as his boat!!

[superflid]

Thanks, I was hoping I could get somebody else to say no for me!

[rpguk]

Of course this is also forgeting the size of the bill when the phone has been sending files 24/7

[Mr E]

Possible?

Yes.

But it would be fantasically expensive.

The best way I can see to do it is;

Get web cam.
Get laptop.
Hook up.
Point webcam at target.

Now comes the tricky stuff....

You need a GPRS mobile/pcmia card. You need some software to take a piccy every 10 seconds or so, and peform a calculation to determine if what it's seeing has changed.

If it has, you blast the piccy down the GPRS phone to the end user (website/email/whatever)

If it hasn't, you don't.

So, if it gets dark (over a period of time) - no piccy.
Some tealeaf nicks the boat. Piccy.

Being a GPRS connection, you'll pay by the byte, not the time, so you can leave it connected 24/7. Or you can rig the machine up to dial whenever it has something to report, but with an always on connection it's possible to query the laptop/camera whenever you feel like it.......


But somewhat over the top. A big dog might be just as effective.....

[angusfaldo]

He'd also have to monitor the received images.

Would that be interesting viewing? Um... Nope!

What did you do last night honey?

Well babe I spent 8 hours watching a boat

[Mr E]

Nah. You rig the machine your end to sound an alarm when it gets a picture. And as you'll only get a picture when something exciting happens, it should be ok.

A cheap B&W camera and video recorder is probably cheaper and easier...

[PetrolTed]

Be easier to pay a bloke to tell you if it's not ok...

[superflid]

Mr E said:
But somewhat over the top. A big dog might be just as effective.....

Big dog now on board, snag is that he now has to go there every day to feed it and take it for a walk......

Other solution, boat well insured - stop worrying!