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Camera / AI / Home Assistant
Smart Cat Fountain
AI object detection opens the faucet for the cat
ESP32-S3OV5640RTSPFrigateCoral TPUHome AssistantMQTTZigbee
Description
My cats prefer drinking straight from the faucet — and I kept forgetting to turn it off. A PIR motion sensor was no solution because it also triggers on humans. Now an ESP32-S3 camera (OV5640, MJPEG over RTSP) streams the sink to Frigate. A Coral TPU verifies there's actually a cat in the sink — only then does Home Assistant open the smart valve in the water line. Four automations handle the flow: open when a cat enters the zone, 45-second run-on when it leaves, close after the timer, plus a 3-minute safety cutoff. Bonus: the detection model occasionally classifies the Maine Coon as a dog — since none lives here, "dog" is simply tracked as well.
Want something like this built?
This is exactly what my "Home Assistant Integration" package covers — from 119€.
I deliver software only (firmware, configuration, code) — no assembled hardware. The components used are only linked for reference, you buy them yourself. Enclosures on request.
Features
- Cat-vs-human distinction via object detection (instead of PIR)
- ESP32-S3 camera with OV5640: MJPEG/RTSP, 1280x720, ~10 fps
- Frigate + Coral TPU, detection zone drawn exactly on the sink
- Smart valve in the water line, switched by Home Assistant
- 45 s run-on timer + 3-minute safety cutoff
- Master switch to disable the automation
- OTA firmware updates (PlatformIO)
- Maine Coon workaround: "dog" is tracked as well
Techstack
Hardware
- Freenove ESP32-S3 WROOM CAM (16 MB Flash / 8 MB PSRAM)
- OV5640 Kamerasensor
- Coral USB Accelerator
- Sonoff SWV Zigbee-Wasserventil (BSP / G3/4)
Software
- PlatformIO
- Micro-RTSP
- Frigate NVR
- Home Assistant
Integration
- MQTT
- Frigate Zonen & Events
- HA Automationen (Timer, Cutoff, Master-Schalter)
