Building a Raspberry Pi security device?

With the rise in catalytic converter thefts I've been thinking about ways to prevent or deter that. Building a motion activated camera with a Raspberry Pi seems like a fairly easy and cheap option. Another would be a motion activated alarm, maybe in conjunction with a camera. However, I have a few problems to solve with either solution and I'd love to get the input of the hive mind.

Ideally, the Pi would live inside of the truck and the sensor and camera would be underneath by the cats. The attachments available for the Pi use ribbon cables. How would I extend the cable to reach under the truck from inside of the cab? Also, what route would the cable follow?

Alternatively, I think I could get a Pi underneath the truck to stream another one in the cab which would actually be recording, but that would double the cost and I'd have two Pis to power, and I'd have to figure out how to make the one underneath pretty secure, as well as weatherproof.

With a motion activated alarm, I wouldn't want my alarm to go off every time a squirrel or bird got under the truck. Is there a way to get it to watch for human-sized motion and not be set off by birds and squirrels? I considered scanning for faces before setting off the alarm (the Pi can do facial recognition) but I'm assuming some cat thieves would be wearing masks.

In the end, probably some kind of plate or cage is the best deterrent, but this would be cheaper.

 

I love Pi's, and have done a lot of projects with them.

But, this is a big one, cheap, maybe, easy, no. A Pi, camera, and waterproof container is going to be minimum $50, probably more. Some simple things come to mind. How do you keep the camera lens clean? What good would the video do anyway? Coming out to find your CAT gone is going to be a bad day, even if you hand the police a video.

$50 will buy plenty of steel to deter a thief. They 'd just crawl under there, see a big steel plate in the way and say "fuck that, I'll try that car over there instead."

 

I've thought about how I would have to wipe the lens off pretty often. It's hard enough to keep the back up camera clean. One would hope that with the addition of a decal next to the cat that says "Say cheese" or something, they'd think twice. Also, it's another reason to try something new out with a Pi. I'm partially being inspired by Mark Rober's glitter bombs. Really though, I'm just having fun thinking about something else that one could do with a Pi, but yes, there are plenty of problems to overcome.

At the end of the day, you're right - a modified skid plate would be the best deterrent.

 

I hear you on the glitter bombs, good stuff. The thing about projects like this is sometimes it is about the project and not the cost or effectiveness. Lord knows I've tried a bunch of stuff way over my head. I've got a couple of ideas that I've spent a fortune on to solve a problem that could be easily handled in a number of different low tech ways. Every time I try and fail I learn something and the next project benefits from that learning.

I say go for it. There are clear, cheap water proof plastic boxes in the kayaking section of your local sporting goods store. (Probably in the fishing section too. I just happen to hang out with the kayaks.)