FruitNanny Raspberry Pi Baby Monitor

While parents of 30 years ago had to settle for audio-only baby monitors, if you take a trip down the baby aisle at your favorite big-box store today, you’ll find that the technology has advanced significantly. Not only can you hear sounds, but you can also get night vision, room temperature readings, and probably all kinds of other gadgets that may or may not make your child’s life better. Those without kids might also peruse the aisle, mentally substituting “monitor for 3D printer/CNC router” as needed.

When it is time to have kids, the DIY right of passage may be shifting from building a crib or mechanical mobile to hacking together parental gadgets like your own baby monitor. If you want to give this a try, check out this detailed Raspberry Pi-based monitor tutorial. The monitor is dubbed the “FruitNanny,” and unlike other projects that father/creator Dmitry Ivanov found, this device features real-time audio and video capabilities, using UV4L as the main software.

While the end result looks very nice in a 3D-printed enclosure, the FruitNanny was initially implemented inside of a food storage container. The build process took several months, including a natural pause after his child’s birth. With this write-up though, hopefully parents-to-be can get their own DIY baby monitors fully completed on time!