Bring intelligent vision to your projects with HomeGenie Mini firmware for ESP32 Camera. This open-source firmware transforms your ESP32 Camera module into a powerful, adaptable smart camera, seamlessly integrating with HomeGenie's advanced A.I. capabilities for unparalleled automation across diverse applications.

Features

With HomeGenie Mini firmware, your ESP32 smart camera gains the following superpowers:

• Secure remote control: Control and monitor from anywhere via MQTT with end-to-end encryption applied to the video stream and all communications. Your data stays private.
• Scheduled recording & time-lapse: Schedule picture saving to SD-Card or create captivating time-lapse sequences using the built-in scheduler.
• In-house AI with HomeGenie Server: Unleash powerful real-time and A.I.-based actions by integrating with HomeGenie Server. Keep your data local, with no need for Internet connectivity or external service providers.
• Simple API for easy integration: Integrate and use it with any other application or services.
• Flexible automation: Automate and integrate with other projects using pre-built actions or leverage the built-in JavaScript engine to create custom automated tasks, such as sending notifications or controlling other devices.

Tested hardware

The following hardware configurations have been tested with HomeGenie Mini Smart Camera firmware. Tests were performed using maximum picture quality settings and JPEG output. Both tested boards utilized the same camera module, an OV3660 (3MP).
Test results are shown in the tables below.

ESP32-CAM

This board embed a ESP32S single core 160MHz chip with 4MB of PSRAM, enough to handle up to 5MP resolutions.

Image Size	Max FPS	Video Format
480x320	14	HVGA
640x480	12	VGA
800x600	10	SVGA
1024x768	9	XGA
1280x720	8	HD
1280x1024	7	SXGA
1600x1200	5	UXGA
2048x1536	4	QXGA

Given these performance characteristics, the ESP32-CAM is now better suited for applications where moderate frame rates are acceptable. While smooth, real-time video is still limited, it's capable of event-triggered image capture, periodic video updates, and monitoring moderately dynamic environments. The ESP32-CAM remains an excellent choice for budget-constrained projects.

Specific application examples for ESP32-CAM

• Simple security camera: Detect motion and send high-resolution image to a server
• Bird feeder monitor: Take more frequent pictures to capture more bird activity.
• Pet or baby monitor (basic): Provide infrequent video updates for checking on a baby or a pet.
• Time-lapse photography: Capture time-lapse sequences at a low to medium resolution.

ESP32-S3-CAM

This board embeds an ESP32-S3 dual-core 240MHz chip with 8MB of PSRAM. At almost the same cost as the ESP32S-based model, this ESP32-S3-based board represents a significant upgrade in terms of processing power (dual-core vs single-core) and PSRAM (8MB vs 4MB).

Image Size	Max FPS	Video Format
480x320	22	HVGA
640x480	20	VGA
800x600	18	SVGA
1024x768	15	XGA
1280x720	15	HD
1280x1024	12	SXGA
1600x1200	10	UXGA
2048x1536	7	QXGA

The ESP32-S3-CAM, with its significantly improved performance, opens up a wider range of possibilities.

Specific application examples for ESP32-S3-CAM

• Advanced security camera: perform person detection, object tracking, and real-time alerts with higher accuracy.
• Smart home automation: integrate with smart home systems for more responsive and intelligent control based on visual data.
• Industrial monitoring: monitor equipment, detect anomalies, and perform quality control checks on production lines.
• Retail analytics: track customer movement, identify popular products, and optimize store layouts.
• Robotics: provide robots with better visual perception for navigation, object manipulation, and human interaction.
• Higher quality time-lapse: capture time-lapse at a better resolution

In short, the ESP32-CAM is suitable for simple, low-bandwidth tasks, while the ESP32-S3-CAM is suitable for advanced use-cases that require better quality images or real-time analysis.

Like other ESP SoCs, both ESP CAM includes 2.4GHz Wi-Fi connectivity and also Bluetooth though only Wi-Fi is enabled in this firmware.

Unleash the power of AI vision

The HomeGenie Mini firmware leverages the ESP32 Camera's capabilities and unlocks its potential with HomeGenie's cutting-edge A.I. engine. By combining the camera's visual input with the processing power of HomeGenie, you can create truly intelligent solutions. This integration uses the latest advancements in A.I. and Machine Learning, including:

• Object detection: recognize and identify objects within the camera's field of view (e.g., tools, components, people, vehicles, products, packages). The versatility allows for applications far beyond the home.
• Motion analysis: go beyond simple motion detection by understanding the type of movement. Is someone walking, running, interacting with equipment, or is it just environmental changes? This nuanced analysis reduces false positives and enables more context-aware automation in any setting.
• Scene understanding: analyze the overall scene to infer activities and situations. Is a room occupied, is a machine operating, is a space cluttered? This allows for intelligent decision making in a range of scenarios.

These A.I. functionalities are seamlessly integrated into HomeGenie's familiar control panel, allowing you to create complex automation rules with simple drag-and-drop interfaces, readily adaptable for any project.

Getting started

Uploading the firmware

To upload the HomeGenie firmware to your ESP camera, connect the board to your computer via USB.

Configuration & Wi-Fi Setup:

1. Select your camera model in the installer form below and customize any hardware settings (Output Modules, GPIO pins).
2. In the Wi-Fi Connection section, enter your target SSID and Password.

• Recommended: Enter your network credentials now so the device connects automatically upon reboot.
• Optional: Leave these fields empty if you prefer standalone offline use or plan to configure Wi-Fi later (via WPS, Bluetooth, or Serial).

3. Click "Create device", then click "Continue" on the next screen, select the camera's virtual COM port, and confirm.
4. Wait for the upload process to complete.
5. Click "Initialize firmware" to finalize and write the configuration to flash memory.

After initialization, the device will restart:

• If Wi-Fi was configured: The status LED will emit a brief pulse every ~2 seconds once connected.
• If Wi-Fi was skipped: In updated firmware versions, the camera starts quietly in offline mode without rapid blinking, allowing immediate standalone operation.

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Connecting to Wi-Fi (Alternative Methods)

If you did not configure Wi-Fi during the initial upload, or if you need to update existing network credentials, you can explicitly activate Setup Mode using the device's onboard BOOT / IO0 button:

1. WPS Pairing (Quickest)

1. Press and hold the BOOT / IO0 button for 4 seconds, then release it.
2. The status LED will begin a continuous slow pulse, indicating WPS pairing mode is active. (Existing saved settings are preserved).
3. Press the WPS button on your Wi-Fi router. The camera will automatically save credentials, reboot, and connect.

2. Bluetooth Setup via HomeGenie Panel
If your router does not support WPS, or if you prefer smartphone onboarding:

1. Put the camera into WPS mode (press and hold the BOOT / IO0 button for 4 seconds and release).
2. Press and hold the BOOT / IO0 button again for 4 seconds, then release it.
3. The camera clears its stored Wi-Fi credentials, reboots, and enters Bluetooth discovery mode, indicated by two quick flashes, repeated.
4. Open the HomeGenie Panel app on your mobile device, search for new devices, and follow the setup wizard to assign a name and configure your Wi-Fi network.

(Note: Bluetooth onboarding is supported on ESP32-S3-CAM boards. Standard ESP32-CAM boards do not support Bluetooth setup due to hardware memory constraints and should be configured via WPS, the Web Installer, or USB Serial).

For complete configuration details, LED status diagnostic charts, and serial terminal commands, see the Device setup guide.

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Using with HomeGenie Panel app

HomeGenie Panel app allows you to control the smart camera from your smartphone. To get started, open the HomeGenie Panel app, start the device discovery and then find and select your smart camera device from the list of available devices. Confirm device location and time settings and select all modules. The smart camera is now added to the panel dashboard.
By clicking the camera widget preview will open the full screen view of the smart camera. From there you can control the integrated RGB LED or take pictures. The widget also allows you to change video resolution and control various image settings including brightness, contrast, saturation and basic effects.

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Clicking the status button on the toolbar allows you to check connected devices and enable MQTT Network for remote control and monitoring of the smart camera and other devices, giving you freedom to choose to use your own MQTT service or one of the public MQTT services, some of which are free and require no registration.
End-to-end encryption with offline key exchange is enabled by default for enhanced privacy and security of your data including video streams.

Using with HomeGenie Server

HomeGenie Server allows you to unlock the power of machine learning and AI on your ESP32 smart camera. With support for YOLO versions 8 through 26, HomeGenie Server delivers state-of-the-art, real-time object detection, even on resource-constrained ARM64 SBCs like the Raspberry Pi.
These versatile models enable a wide range of computer vision tasks, including object detection (identifying and locating objects), instance segmentation (detecting object boundaries), image classification (categorizing images), pose estimation (detecting and tracking keypoints on human bodies), and oriented object detection (OBB).
Best of all, HomeGenie Server includes the latest YOLOv26 pre-trained models for object detection and pose estimation, so you can start experimenting immediately!

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Application scenarios

• Smart security: receive alerts only when a person is detected on your property or in a restricted area, minimizing false alarms.
• Elderly care: monitor the activity levels of elderly relatives in their homes, or patients in a care facility. Detect falls or lack of movement and automatically notify caregivers.
• Pet monitoring: track your pet's activity, detect unusual behaviors, and automatically dispense food or water as needed. Or, in an agricultural setting, monitor livestock behavior.
• Energy management: automatically turn off lights and appliances when a room is unoccupied based on object and scene recognition. Extend this to optimize energy usage in commercial buildings or factories.
• Package delivery Notifications: receive instant alerts when a package is delivered and placed within the camera's view. This could be used for inventory tracking in warehouses.
• Industrial monitoring: monitor production lines for anomalies, track tool usage, or ensure safety protocols are followed.

Create this device now! 🪄

Connect your ESP32/ESP8266 microcontroller to your computer via USB, select your firmware version, and click "Create device" to upload the HomeGenie Mini firmware.

See the Device setup page for further information about configuring a HomeGenie Mini device.

Modules and API

In addition to the common Device API, this device implements the following modules and API.

CAM module

Controls the camera sensor module.

Domain / Address

HomeAutomation.HomeGenie/CAM

Properties

• Sensor.ObjectDetect
• Sensor.ObjectDetect.Subject

Parameters

• Controls.Brightness
  Image brightness [-2 .. +2]
• Controls.Contrast
  Image contrast [-2 .. +2]
• Controls.Effect
  Image effect [0 .. 6]
  (0=no effect, 1=negative, 2=grayscale ,3=red tint, 4=green tint, 5=blue tint, 6=sepia)
• Controls.HMirror
  Reflect image horizontally ['true', 'false']
• Controls.Saturation
  Image saturation [-2 .. +2]
• Controls.VFlip
  Mirror image vertically ['true', 'false']
• Image.Resolution
  Image resolution [0 .. 21]
  (see resolution tables below)
• Image.Quality
  Image quality [10 .. 80]
  (where 10 is the highest quality and 80 the lowest)

Commands

• Camera.GetPicture
  Download current picture from camera (JPEG image)
• Camera.FileSave
  Take a picture and save it to SD card

API usage examples

HTTP API call (GET) to get current image:

GET /api/HomeAutomation.HomeGenie/CAM/Camera.GetPicture

HTTP API call (PUT or POST) to set camera parameters:

PUT /api/HomeAutomation.HomeGenie/Config/Modules.ParameterSet/HomeAutomation.HomeGenie/CAM/
{
  "Image.Resolution": 8,         # 8 = 680x480
  "Image.Quality": 10,           # 10 = max quality
  "Controls.HMirror": "true"
}

The Image.Resolution parameter can be one of the following values:

2MP

3MP

5MP