Raspberry Pi: Attach A Sensor To Raspberry Pi and Receive Mobile Alerts

In this particular scenario, my goal was to attach a motion sensing device to Raspberry Pi Zero W and have it send me alerts.   Now that this basic functionality is achieved, I can modify and reuse it as I wish. 

I used the following: 

Hardware: 

1. Raspberry Pi Zero W 

2. PIR motion sensor (EMY 5 X HC-SR501 Adjust Ir Pyroelectric Infrared PIR Motion Sensor Detector) 

Software: 

1. (Operating system: Debian) 

2. Programming Language:  Node.js 

3. Communication medium:  IFTTT.com 

STEP ONE:  ATTACHING THE PIR 

This PIR component has three pins (Power, Output, Ground.)  Using female-to-male cables, I attached as follows: 

PIR PINS	RASPBERRY PI GPIO PINS
POWER	PIN 2 (5v)
OUTPUT	PIN 7
GROUND	PIN 6

STEP TWO: 

1. If you don't have one already, set up an account at ifttt.com .  Personally, I do not recommend this site for confidential actions but it is fun to play with! 

2.  Navigate to "My Applets" and click on "New Applet" 

3. Click the "Plus" image and you should be taken to a page "Choose a service" 

4. Search for "web"  and choose "Maker Webhooks" 

5. Select "Receive a web request" as a trigger 

6. Enter the following tag:  "motion_detected" to create a trigger 

7. You should be re-directed to a page that reads "If (webhook) then" Plus sign. 

8. Select the "SMS" service. 

9. Select "Send me an SMS" 

10. Enter your tag  "motion_detected" to create an action and then add the phone number for SMS 

11. You should receive a special "key".  Save this. 

12. Review changes and save. 

STEP THREE: INSTALLING SOFTWARE ON PI: 

1. Create a folder for project and ensure internet is connected. 

2. Open a terminal window, type the following: 

1. Test to see if Node.js is installed) 

 Node –v 

2. If no version is returned or version is below v6, get latest: 

                      curl -sL https://deb.nodesource.com/setup_7.x | sudo -E bash - 

3. Once version is downloaded, then install:   

sudo apt-get install –y nodejs 

4. Test to see if latest version of Node.js is installed: 

Node –v 

3. Download this code into your folder from here:  pir_motion_trigger.js 

4. Open code (pir_motion_trigger.js) in text editor.  You will change the following lines of code to customize for your IFTTT applet: 

     // IFTTT data 

     var key = "enter key here" 

     var eventName = "motion_detected" 

5. Save code and close 

6. Once again, open a terminal window and navigate to your folder.   

7. Type the following: 

sudo node pir_motion_trigger.js 

8. Wait a minute or two then wave your hand in front.  Soon you should get a text message. 

NOTE:  This particular model of PIR has the ability to adjust sensitivity for motion delay and distance.  You can manipulate by adjusting the two yellow/orange screws or programmatically.