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Spooky but fun surveillance ideas with clever things

Where would James Bond be without his gadgets? Fortunately for the super-spy, he could always rely on Q to equip him with the latest high-tech tools. The best Bond gadgets of all time. The best Bond gadgets of all time. James Bonds gadgets are legendary. In this article, we take a look at some of the most futuristic gadgets from the movies and see how they stand out in the era of the iWatch. Read More

However, today it is easier than ever to get your hands on the best technology. With a suite of Smart Home devices like the SmartThings suite, you can eavesdrop and eavesdrop to your heart's content. Here are some fun ways to use a SmartThings Hub with a SmartThings Presence to keep a watchful eye on your surroundings.

Snoop someone

The easiest way to use a SmartThings system for surveillance is through a Presence. The Presence is probably one of the first accessories any SmartThings user will buy after the Hub, and its simple functionality offers a wide range of possibilities.

Combine your presence with a hub, and you'll be able to track when you're in range of the device, as well as when you leave that perimeter once again. To connect a new presence, press the plus symbol on the SmartThings app dashboard, select Connect new device and follow the process.

Spooky but fun surveillance ideas with clever things

Once you're in place, you can set the notifications you'll receive on your smartphone. 5 simple ways to be a more conscious user. 5 simple ways to be a smarter user. It's easy to get sucked into the world of smartphones in the world. Modern age and forget about the real world. Here's how to take back control of your life. Read More You can also access a record of those various comings and goings, as well as the time they occurred, by navigating to Activity in the Settings Menu for the individual device within the SmartThings app.

The Presence's recommended functionality is to keep friends or family members in the loop as they come and go from your home, but anyone looking to do a little snooping may find that it's small enough to slip into a bag or pocket. the glove compartment of a vehicle without the intended purpose of warning.

That kind of behavior might seem unethical to you, and in most situations, you'd be quite right to think so. That said, there are plenty of reasons why you might have the best of intentions for your snooping. 3 Ways to Protect Your Family and Home with a SmartThings Presence 3 Ways to Protect Your Family and Home with a SmartThings Presence Are you sure? See what a SmartThings Presence can do to keep an eye on your home. Read more . For example, what if you were sure your teen was sneaking out at night, but you couldn't prove it?

Timely use of a SmartThings presence will give you the evidence you need to catch those redheads!

Tweet Upon Arrival

Let's say you want to track the comings and goings of several people to a particular location, this could be family members and your home, or co-workers and your office. There are many different ways to make this happen with SmartThings, but for this example we'll use a handy website called IFTTT Capture your creative ideas instantly with the simplicity of IFTTT Capture your creative ideas instantly with the simplicity of IFTTT Setup One central system for Tracking down your ideas is worth the time and effort it takes. Your creativity and productivity will thank you. Here is a simple way. Read More

First, create an IFTTT account, navigate to My Recipes and then Create a recipe .

From here, click. this and look for SmartThings in the trigger channel input field. Select Presence detected from the large list of options presented to you, and select the SmartThings Presence from the dropdown menu.

Spooky but fun surveillance ideas with clever things

Now click on that and we will configure the response that will be executed when a Presence is detected. Find Twitter and select it as you did before, and select Post a Tweet . You'll be presented with an example tweet to show you what it will look like in practice, so you can make any edits you want.

Spooky but fun surveillance ideas with clever things

The beauty of this step is that it uses generic placeholders for the device name and location, which will be replaced with details once the recipe is active. Automating this aspect of the procedure means that you will be left with a Twitter account that acts as a timeline of the various movements of individuals.

Click Create Recipe and you're done. This recipe really only scratches the surface of what can be achieved with IFTTT and SmartThings working in sync. Check out MakeUseOf's Ultimate Guide to IFTTT. A powerful tool like a pro, if this is so, also known as IFTTT is a free web-based service for your apps and devices to work together. Not sure how to build your applet? Follow along with this guide. Read More

Monitor your staff

Smart home devices are often used in the home, but there's no reason they can't be implemented as part of a smart office. Using a Hub and an IFTTT, you can set up a “Time Card” system to make sure your staff arrive and arrive on time, every day. Best of all, you don't need to equip them with Presence devices:any smartphone can be used instead, as long as the SmartThings app is installed.

To do this, you will first need to connect your IFTTT account to your Google Drive account. Then create a new recipe and select Smart Stuff how he is component, then choose Presence Detected . Choose the first Presence we are going to add to our timecard from the dropdown menu and click Create Trigger .

Now select Google Drive For the that component, and select Add row to spreadsheet . In most cases, this will be the best way to set up the document, but depending on your particular needs Append to a document might make more sense. It's really a matter of personal preference, which comes down to whether you want to use a text file or a spreadsheet.

Spooky but fun surveillance ideas with clever things

You will then be given control over various action fields, as you can see above. Name your spreadsheet something sensible and choose your preferred Drive Folder Path , but leave the Formatted Row field as it is. You can change it later, but for now the standard setting is ideal for our uses.

Select Create Action and then Create Recipe . Then repeat the process for the number of people you want to track on the time card and do the same procedure using Presence is no longer detected. how he is component if you want it to monitor staff leaving the office and arriving.

Spooky but fun surveillance ideas with clever things

Now you have a spreadsheet that will keep track of all this information without you having to perform any of the tasks. How to Install and Use the Nest Thermostat to Automate Energy Savings How to Install and Use the Nest Thermostat to Automate Energy Savings If you've ever considered getting started with home automation, buying a Nest thermostat is the perfect way to start. In just one week of use, we cut our power consumption in half. Read more . When the document reaches 2000 rows, it will simply create a new spreadsheet and start the whole process again.

Have you found a novel way to use SmartThings for surveillance? Found a great recipe on IFTTT? Let us know in the comments section below.