A little while ago, the term motion detection was viewed upon as science fiction at best, if not as a thing that wont be put to into practice in the very near future. Well, here we are, in the very near future and technology gave birth to this idea, especially with the advancements made in infrared sensors.

Motion detection cameras are now more than action-movie objects, since they make their way into more and more homes, stores or institutions globally.

How do motion detection cameras work?

In theory, the notion beneath a motion detection camera is simple: each image captured by the camera is compared to the previous one and if the camera detects major changes, it fires up the motion detection alarm.

However, there are still a lot of problems connected to this tricky implementation of motion detection. clearly, a motion detection camera cannot be used outdoors, or even the slightest change of sunlight may fire off the alarm. Their most common use is during nighttime when there are little natural changes taking place that could set off false alarms.

Still, todays technology isnt superior enough to make the difference between, say, your dog, running around the living room in the middle of the night, or a thief. Both will probably start the alarm. Therefore, its a good choice to keep your pets away from the monitored vicinity during the time motion detection is on.

Another constraint, or rather a fact youll probably want to avoid, is aiming your motion detection camera towards a window. Even during night time, a window viewing towards the street can cause a lot of bogus alarms as lighting outside may change, the window may mirror light in the lens and so forth.

Things to know when getting a brand new motion detection camera

First of all, take note that they are not 100% effective, so false alarms WILL go off, regardless of how the manufacturer boasts about the motion detection camera being false alarm-proof.

If you have a pet, its likely it will sneak into the monitored room and cause an alarm every now and then. Even you might be ending up going for a drink in the middle of the night and forgetting that you set your motion detection camera on, setting off the alarm.

These are all small nuisances that you can correct or at least get used to. But if you have small children or less lenient neighbors, these nuisances can cause quite a bit of trouble, so please take that into account when choosing whether or not to buy a motion detection camera.

They are indeed very practical and your security will be increased if you install a few of them around the house during the night, but there simply are a few settings in which they just dont work properly, at least not until scientists figure out how to teach the camera to distinguish a burglar from a cat.