Bark Detector with Micro USB power supply

Tired of the neighbour’s dogs barking? Need real evidence, not arguments?
Meet BarkDetector—a smart, portable listener that uses on-device Artificial intelligence (AI) * to tell dog barks from speech and everyday noise. When it hears a real bark, it automatically records a short, timestamped audio clip and logs the AI confidence (Dog% vs Spch%). You can connect to the device’s built-in Wi-Fi hotspot, review the evidence on a clean web page, and download clips or a full ZIP/CSV—all in minutes, with your privacy intact.

BarkDetector Web Page Example - https://media.portmoni.com/95501/Bark1.mp4

BarkDetector runs a compact on-device AI model trained to recognize dog barks and separate them from speech and everyday noises. It analyzes short audio slices, outputs Dog% and Spch%, and records a clip when Dog% is strongly positive for a moment. Everything happens offline; you choose what to download.

Why BarkDetector?

AI-powered accuracy – Distinguishes barks from speech/noise with live confidence scores.

Automatic evidence – Time-stamped recordings + CSV log ready for body corporate, security, or training.

Totally offline – No cloud. Your data stays on the device until you download it.

Simple by design – Join the hotspot, tap Sync device time from my device, and you’re set.

At-a-glance OLED – See Dog%/Spch%, battery, time, and live audio level instantly.

Portable & robust – Place it where it matters; optional perspex cover for protection.

Use responsibly: always respect local laws and privacy rules.

First-time setup (≈1 minute)

A) Fastest: scan the QR

Power the BarkDetector and wait ~30 s.

On your phone, open the Camera and point it at the QR labeled “BarkDetector” (like the one shown here).

Tap Join when the popup appears.

Password: W00f1234 (pre-filled on most phones).

When prompted about “No Internet,” choose Use without Internet (normal for a local hotspot).

In your browser, go to http://10.10.0.1:8000 and press Sync device time from my device.

The QR encodes the Wi-Fi details only.

B) Manual join (if QR isn’t supported)

Open Wi-Fi settings → join BarkDetector (or BarkDetector-XXXX).

Enter W00f1234.

Visit http://10.10.0.1:8000 → Sync device time from my device.

Why the time sync matters: filenames and the CSV evidence log use the device timestamp. Do this on first use and after a full battery drain or  change.

Evidence page — what the controls do

Folder / Free – Storage used and free space on the unit.

Policy – Auto-cleanup goals (keep size, free space, max days). Old, unflagged clips are removed to meet this.

Top buttons

Download all (ZIP) – Export every clip + the CSV in one file.

Download CSV – Export barks.csv (timestamps, filenames, AI scores).

Sync device time from my device – Set the BarkDetector clock to your phone/laptop.

Delete all – Permanently removes every .wav and the CSV (irreversible).

Prune now – Apply the Policy immediately (keeps flagged clips).

Per-file actions (Recordings table)

Play – Stream the clip in your browser.

Download – Save just that clip.

Flag – Protect from Policy/Prune (click again to unflag).

Filename example
bark-2025-10-22_10-18-20_dog0.85.wav → 85% dog confidence for that event.

OLED — what the display means (percent-based)

Listening screen

Dog 86%   Spch 12%   [🔋] ▉▉▉▉▉▉▉ (audio level bar) 15:59:03   4.10V   91% 

Dog % / Spch % – Live AI confidence scores (0–99%) for dog bark vs speech in the current audio window.

Audio bar – Live loudness.

Time / Voltage / % – Device clock, battery voltage, and estimated charge.

BARK! screen (during detection)

BARK! Dog 86% Spch 12% 

When Dog % stays high briefly, a bark event is logged and a clip is saved (helps avoid false triggers).

Quick tips

If http://10.10.0.1:8000 doesn’t load, re-check you’re connected to BarkDetector and include http:// and :8000.

For best accuracy, place the unit out of wind and away from rattling surfaces.

Re-sync time after a full battery drain or when moving across time zones.
 

Built-in UPS

BarkDetector rides on a UPS HAT so it keeps recording even if mains power drops.

Clean 5 V output with power-path charging — runs the BarkDetector while charging the battery at the same time

Battery & charging — uses a 3.7 V 803040 Li-Po (≈1000 mAh); charge with 5 V micro-USB

Typical runtime: With a 1000 mAh pack you can expect roughly 3–5 hours on the BarkDetector (usage and temperature vary)
 

What you’ll see: the OLED shows voltage and %, and the Evidence page logs the time-stamped events—so you still get neat, continuous evidence during brief outages.

Supplied with a micro USB power supply to charge the battery

Two ears beat one. BarkDetector uses two INMP441 digital (I²S) microphones mounted a short distance apart. Because they’re digital and clocked from the same I²S stream, the left/right signals are sample-aligned—perfect for spatial audio tricks like beamforming and direction-of-arrival estimation.

How the microphones are being used

Delay-and-Sum Beamforming
The BarkDetector estimate the tiny time difference of arrival (TDOA) between the two mics and apply a fractional delay so sounds from the front line up; summing them boosts the on-axis bark while reducing off-axis noise.
Example: with ~6 cm mic spacing, the maximum TDOA is ≈0.06 m / 343 m/s ≈ 0.000175 s—about 3 samples at 16 kHz—so precise, sample-level (fractional) alignment really matters.

Noise Rejection
The sum channel (after steering) emphasizes the target direction; the difference channel highlights wind/handling/side noise. The BarkDetector uses this to auto-adapt thresholds and to avoid false triggers from rattles or distant traffic.

Smarter AI Features
The classifier doesn’t just “listen to mono.” It sees features from the beamformed signal plus simple spatial cues (level/phase cues between mics). That extra spatial context helps it tell real barks from human speech or clatter in tough environments.

Cleaner Recordings
Directional gain improves effective SNR, so the clips sound clearer and shorter—better evidence, less fluff.

Digital end-to-end
INMP441s output I²S directly (no analog preamp, no hiss pickup), giving consistent calibration across units and stable long-term behavior

Beamforming isn’t magic—extreme wind or very reflective spaces can still make things messy—but the dual-mic array gives BarkDetector a real, measurable edge in accuracy and clip quality.

* Artificial intelligence (AI) is the theory and development of computer systems capable of performing tasks that historically required human intelligence, such as recognizing speech, making decisions, and identifying patterns. AI is an umbrella term that encompasses a wide variety of technologies, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing (NLP).