I am working on a project for a customer where we need to trigger a video playing (on a PC) when we sense movement in the area. Would any of your products help me achieve this? I need to be able to detect the motion trigger from the device and then I can program the necessary actions on the software.
hi @benwiddows and welcome to the forum!
There is a lot of motion sensor offered on our site: https://www.robotshop.com/en/catalogsearch/result/?q=motion+sensor&order=relevance&dir=desc
Do you already have an I/O interface on that PC or you also need to find that?
Do you know how you will play the video once when you receive and input from motion sensor? Maybe some Python script could do that?
1 Like
Here’s a project that will automatically start a program using a Arduino Uno, Ping sensor and java script. This should point you in a decent direction.
2 Likes
This is good 
My first thought was Raspberry Pi , motion sensor and Python script 
1 Like
Hello @benwiddows and welcome to the forum!
I liked the ideas given by @bmoscato and @igor_X but as you said you are already going to be using a PC I thought it would be great to take advantage of that and use a Phidget which can connect via a USB port.
For your project I think the Phidgets Infrared Motion Sensor (1111) would be perfect
The 1111 detects changes in infrared radiation which occur when there is movement by a person (or object) which is different in temperature from the surroundings. As the 1111 detects temperature differences, it is well suited to detecting the motion of people by their body temperature. The sensor is also characterized by a narrow sensing area.
And you owuld need a VINT Hub to connect the device to your PC.
I hope that information can be useful to you!
Good luck with your project
3 Likes
I agree. That’s a good choice
Thanks everyone very much for the useful feedback. I like the look of the Phidget. Having reviewed other suggestions I’ve been thinking about perhaps switching from PC to Raspberry Pi, but if the Phidget works with PC that’s great.
Do you know if would work with a Pi too?
The Raspberry Pi is a great option!
And yes, Phidgets work with the Rpi
Here are some great tutorials for using Phidgets with a Raspberry Pi:
2 Likes