Twitter Burglar Alarm Tweets To Let You Know Your TV Is Being Stolen

I'm more used to Twitter trying to steal my time and concentration, but this latest Arduino project turns it into a protector of law and order instead.  The Arduino is used to monitor a home burglar alarm and send out status messages should anything unexpected happen; that could include when the alarm was activated or shut off, error messages regarding dodgy sensors, or just when the alarm actually sounds.

Setup is straightforward, with the Arduino's digital IO pins directly wired up to the alarm's output signals.  An XBee wireless module was added, since the alarm control panel is some distance away from the nearest ethernet hook-up, and a simple Linux server (with the USB XBee receiver) monitors any changes and fires off the Twitter messages.

It's similar to the previous Twitter projects we've seen – such as the Tweet-a-Watt energy monitor, and the tweeting washing machine.  Anyone care to place a bet on what the next Twitter-enabled household device will be?  I'm betting it's the billboard cat.

[via Hacked Gadgets]