Bark Back Interactive Pet Monitor

Contributors: jenfoxbot

Pi Configuration

Step 1: Check & Install Updates

Check for and install updates:

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get upgrade
sudo reboot

Step 2: Set up SPI Interface for MEMS Microphone + MCP3002

Install the Python Dev package :

sudo apt-get install python-dev

Create a subfolder and install the Serial Port Interface ("SPI"):

mkdir py-spidev
git clone git://github.com/doceme/py-spidev
sudo python setup.py install

Here's the SPI-Dev Documentation if you run into any issues.

Step 3: Playing Sounds with OMXPlayer

The OMXPlayer is an audio and video player pre-loaded on Raspbian OS (woo!). It works with most sound file types, including: .wav, .mp3 and .m4a. We'll use this to play our "bark back" sounds.

In the terminal, test the OMXPlayer using the following command:

omxplayer /home/pi/.../SongFilePath/SongFileName.mp3

If that doesn't work, try forcing it over the local audio-out device:

omxplayer -o local /home/pi/.../SongFilePath/SongFileName.mp3

Step 4: Configure CloudMQTT Server

Now we set up an MQTT server! To do this using CloudMQTT, do the following:

1. Set up a CloudMQTT account (the "Cute Cat" plan is free).
2. Create a new MyCloud instance.
3. In the Console, create a new ACL rule.
4. You can monitor published messages in the "Websocket UI" of your CloudMQTT console.

Finally, install the MQTT Paho Client Python library:

pip install paho-mqtt