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I want to build a motion detector that performs a similar service to security services, which notify me upon intrusion and provide video feed. The other main requirement is that I can update the sotware remotely. (For example, I can flash over-the-air a Particle Photon, which is similar to Arduino.) I found this thread and this thread and still have questions on how to proceed.

I would like a board that can:

  • take code in C++ or Python
  • connect to a Passive Infrared motion sensor
  • connect to speakers for a high-pitched sound upon intrusion
  • use cellular connectivity if local area network is down
  • function for a long time on a power bank if power is down
  • be updated remotely, as I mentioned above
  • ideally, compress video to save on data usage for upload

I know that people have done this on a Raspberry Pi, but my main requirement is a board for which I can flash the firmware remotely (as far as I know, the Pi and any "normal" computer does not).

Has anyone built a similar system and could give some pointers?

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You don't "flash" software to a pi in the same way you do a micro controller based device. You can easily update software OTA (over the air) to a Raspberry pi, just by copying the files to the device and restarting the application.

If you want to automate this sort of thing then using a service like balena.io will do it for you. You just need to package your application up into docker containers.

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  • Yes, I've been copying new application files over SSH. One concern is with security, e.g. patch the device with new updated packages. With the Particle Photon, a new version of the application is bundled with the latest firmware, and . With Balena on the Pi, it seems that I would be able to copy a docker container with my app and call it at boot, but I don't think I could flash the firmware, right?
    – emonigma
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 9:53
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    Balena runs on top of a very thin layer, most of it runs as a hidden container next to your application containers, it gets updated automatically. You don't need to update the low level stuff in this model. It's a different mindset to embedded development.
    – hardillb
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 10:06
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    And if you don't run Balena, then you just use the built in package management tools to update the base OS. e.g. apt-get upgrade (of course you should test all of this with local devices, before updating deployed devices)
    – hardillb
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 10:36
  • I read the primer. It seems that with Balena I would still need to maintain the device with apt-get upgrade and the advantage of Balena is that my application is in a container and Balena automatically updates its own OS. Is that right?
    – emonigma
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 22:47
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    No, you only need to update the content of your containers
    – hardillb
    Commented Jan 7, 2020 at 22:48

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