Man Hacks Raspberry Pi To Unlock Door And Open It When His Dog Barks

How would you like to be able to say “unlock door” and your Raspberry Pi would do it? This isn’t quite that sophisticated, but it’s close. This is a hack that will allow your Pi to unlock and open your door when it hears your dog bark. Of course, you could go to the hardware store and buy a timer to open your door at certain times, but geeks never take the easy way out when there is more fun way of doing things. This is exactly what David Hunt did.

He and his family recently got a new dog, and that dog barks when she wants to go in or out of the door to the backyard. After being woken from his sleep over and over to let their dog (Rex) out or in, he decided to hack his Raspberry Pi to take care of this task for him. If you decide to do this, remember that the dog’s bark plays an integral role. In order for your Pi to unlock doors and open them when your dog barks, you’ll also need a bark activated automatic door opener.

He did this project keeping in mind that it would be educational, and the pictures and video below are inspiring, in a geeky kind of way. You can read all of David’s details at his blog post entitled Pi-Rex: Bark Activated Door Opening System With Raspberry Pi. The bottom line is that when Rex barks, the lock mechanism automatically moves so that it unlocks, and the door opens.

The type of door you want your Pi to unlock and open is probably an important part of this process too. It probably wouldn’t unlock doors if they are very complex. This wouldn’t work at my house though since my dog barks whenever someone comes to the door. I wouldn’t want the door to unlock and open for just anyone who is standing there. However, this is a-w-e-s-o-me-e anyway. Pi hacks are some of my favorite hacks ever, and this one is really special.