Let the watcher control your lights

I recently got my hands on Seeed Studio’s latest innovation, the SenseCAP Watcher. This compact and attractive device combines the power of tinyML and LLM in a single package. Equipped with a vision AI camera and an ESP32S3 chip.

If you see a person, let me know

The SenseCAP Watcher isn’t just another gadget — it’s a versatile problem-solver with countless applications. Today, I’m putting it through its paces by automating my home office lighting. Buckle up, because this is where things get exciting!

Picture this: The Watcher, ever vigilant, detects a person entering the room. In a split second, it springs into action, sending a signal to the SenseCAP cloud. This triggers the Openstream node in my Node-RED application (running on a Raspberry Pi) which triggers an IFTTT event via a webhook to illuminate the room. Let there be light!

But wait, there’s more! Thanks to the magic of IFTTT, this setup isn’t limited to just one type of light. Whether you’re team Philips Hue, a Govee enthusiast, or rocking any Smart Life compatible plugs, the Watcher has got you covered.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: “This sounds great, but setting it up must be a nightmare, right?” Wrong! I’ve created a Balena app that makes getting started with Node-RED and SenseCAP Openstream as easy as pie. Just head over to my GitHub repo https://github.com/just4give/balena-node-red-watcher and click on “Deploy with Balena.” One click, and you’re off to the races! Keep reading and a working demo video will be waiting for you near the end.

Once your Node-RED flow is configured, you’ll need to set up your IFTTT webhook. If you’re scratching your head at this point, don’t worry — there’s a blog post that’ll walk you through it step by step. In my setup, I’ve got a bunch of smart lights: a couple of Philips Hue bulbs connected via Hue Bridge, a Govee light for ambient light, and a Gantri lamp to round things out.

The final step? Fire up the SenseCraft app and send a task to your Watcher. And just like that, you’ve stepped into the future of home automation!

So go ahead, give it a shot! Who knew playing with lights could be this much fun? Welcome to the new way of smart home technology!

Enjoy!!!