Gotya re-uses an old Symbian smartphone as a security cam

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Introducing Gotya, an app (and cloud service) that can be used to turn an old (S60 5th/Symbian^3) Symbian smartphone into a smart motion dectection camera (i.e. take a photo when motion is detected). The same app can then be used, on a different device, to remotely control and monitor the camera on the first device. Combining the two devices with the cloud service essentially forms a basic, remotely accessible, personal surveillance system. 

From the Nokia Store description:

Gotya is mobile photo surveillance. Turn your Symbian phones into smart motion detection cameras to capture photos at your house or anyplace you want. Use Gotya app by itself or connect to the Gotya cloud service for remote control of 4 cameras at once, take instant snapshots, auto-upload pictures to Gotya cloud, and get audio, picture and email alerts. Gotya service available on Windows Phone and the Web. 

The app is apparently "50% off the regular app price". A subscription to the accompanying Gotya cloud service costs $12 a year. However, for a limited time, a 60 day free trial of of the service is available to new users. .

The Gotya cloud service is used to store captured photos online and can be configured to email you an alert when motion is detected, including a link to the picture in the Gotya cloud.

Gotya provides an opportunity to make an old device that is sitting in a drawer useful again (it's also compatible with Windows Phone 7 and 8 in either camera or control capacity), but there's clearly some significant set up required (e.g. leave the app running, provide external power, work out a weatherproof mounting system), but overall it may still be a lot cheaper and easier than buying and installing a dedicated surveillance system from scratch.

The remote controller element of Gotya lets you view not only the captures from the remote camera (on demand), but also change the camera settings (e.g. flash on or off, image quality, motion detection sensitivity, whether to save images to the cloud, whether to play an alert sound, and more). You can add up to four remote cameras (phones) to any account, potentially allowing you to provide coverage of a number of locations, or have multiple camera angles in a single location. The remote control service is also available through a web interface.

More information on the app and cloud service are available on the Gotya website.

Here are some screens of Gotya in action on Symbian:

Screenshot, Gotya

In use, scanning for motion and then reporting back to the cloud service...

Screenshot, Gotya

Setting up Gotya for the hours when you're out (for example)...

Screenshot, Gotya

The main Gotya Setting dialog with no scheduler in place...

Screenshot, Gotya

Note the (motion) sensitivity sliders, allowing you to allow for small animals (for example) but still triggering for burglars and other suspicious activity...

Screenshot, Gotya

Calibrating the field of view from a Symbian smartphone in its new role...