How to See a Real-Time Street View of My House
By Richard Gaughan
You may have heard the story of the woman who divorced her husband after recognizing his car in a Google Street View image of another woman's house. Or perhaps you've seen the pictures of the man leaning on his porch pointing a shotgun at the Google camera car. If you're hoping to monitor Google Street View to keep an eye on the activities at your own house, you're out of luck. Those pictures are taken at irregular intervals when the Google camera car drives by. You can check the date by looking at the text at the bottom of any street view image. You can get real time images of your house, but you have to do it yourself using a webcam.
Step 1
Select and acquire a network camera. Evaluate your needs and consider whether you want features such as motion detection and infrared imaging or wireless or hard-wired camera connections. Also make sure the field of view of your camera will cover the area you want to see.
Step 2
Install your network camera's software on your computer.
Step 3
Connect your network webcam to your home network's router. Make sure your computer is on the same home network.
Step 4
Start the camera software program and follow the initialization steps. You can configure the camera for hard-wired or wireless operation at this step. If you're going wireless, your router should follow at least the 802.11n protocol or better.
Step 5
Install the camera at a location that allows you to monitor the area of interest. When considering camera locations, you'll need to evaluate the field of view, the lighting and the access to electrical power.
You can easily install multiple cameras. Most systems will automatically recognize the second and subsequent cameras without you needing to go through the initialization step.
Step 6
Connect to your home network from anywhere with an Internet connection to get real-time camera images anytime.
References
- The Telegraph: Cheating Husband Spotted at Mistress' Home on Google Street View
- The Inquisitr: Google Maps Street View Shows Gun-Toting Man On Porch Of Detroit Home Where Toddler Was Later Found Dead
- PCWorld: How to Set Up a Wireless Network Webcam
- CRN: How To: Set Up an IP-Based Camera Surveillance System
Writer Bio
First published in 1998, Richard Gaughan has contributed to publications such as "Photonics Spectra," "The Scientist" and other magazines. He is the author of "Accidental Genius: The World's Greatest By-Chance Discoveries." Gaughan holds a Bachelor of Science in physics from the University of Chicago.