Observe
The Camera phone compares incoming frames at a reduced workload.
On-device motion
Motion detection that starts with a change in the picture.
SpareCam watches for meaningful frame changes on the Camera phone. When a trigger is accepted, it creates a motion event, can notify the Viewer, and records event media locally when capture succeeds.
Accept
Thresholds and consecutive changes filter brief noise.
Record
An event is created and local recording can capture useful context.
Notify
The selected connection path carries event information to the Viewer.
What the Camera phone does
Detection happens before an event reaches the Viewer
SpareCam's current detector looks for changes between camera frames. It applies sensitivity, repeated-change, and trigger-timing rules so a single noisy frame does not automatically become an event. This work runs on the Camera phone.
The result is a motion trigger, not a statement about what moved. The current product does not attach a semantic label to the event. That distinction keeps the alert honest and avoids presenting a basic visual trigger as advanced recognition.
An event is not the same thing as a finished video
A motion event records that the system accepted movement at a particular time. Its recording is a separate media result. A healthy event can have a preview and a completed recording, but an interrupted runtime or storage problem can leave only partial media or no playable video.
Completed motion-triggered segments are stored in SpareCam's app storage on the Camera phone. The Viewer can request playback while that Camera is reachable and export a recording it needs to keep.
The event time is not a continuous movement duration.
It marks the event's activity window. The player uses the actual playable media duration instead of assuming that movement was continuous throughout that entire window.
Adjust how easily a frame change is accepted.
A higher sensitivity can catch smaller changes but also reacts more often to moving shadows, camera vibration, or exposure shifts. Start in the middle and test the real room.
Quiet alerts without pretending nothing happened.
Quiet-time settings can suppress notifications during selected hours. The detection and event path can still run; the setting is about interruption, not rewriting the room's history.
Keep the Camera phone from filling forever.
Recording quotas and retention protect local storage. Export a clip you need before deleting it or resetting the Camera setup.
Reduce false triggers
Frame-change detection is sensitive to the room, not just activity.
- Avoid aiming directly at windows with fast-changing sunlight.
- Use a rigid stand so vibration does not move the whole frame.
- Keep curtains, fans, and reflective screens out of the main view.
- Test both daytime and nighttime lighting before choosing sensitivity.
- Expect gradual tuning; one setting will not fit every room.
Known limits
Sudden lighting changes, moving shadows, a shaky mount, compression noise, and insects close to the lens can all create triggers. Very slow or very small movement may be missed. SpareCam is a practical visual monitor, not a certified intrusion detector.
Test the real room
Set up SpareCamSet sensitivity after the Camera is mounted.
Placement, daylight, vibration, and the phone's camera all affect the result. A short real-world test is more useful than copying someone else's setting.