Some Tapo PTZ cameras support an automatic cruise mode in addition to manual pan/tilt movements.

On a Tapo C200, cruise can run:

• horizontally
• vertically
• and be stopped explicitly

python-kasa already exposes PTZ controls through the SmartCam PanTilt module, so cruise support seems to fit naturally there.

I could not find an existing issue or PR specifically covering cruise / patrol support.

Protocol

Known Tapo commands:

Horizontal cruise:

{"do":{"motor":{"cruise":{"coord":"x"}}}}

Vertical cruise:

{"do":{"motor":{"cruise":{"coord":"y"}}}}

Stop cruise:

{"do":{"motor":{"cruise_stop":{}}}}

Existing implementations use the same commands:

• https://github.com/JurajNyiri/pytapo
• https://github.com/TA2k/ioBroker.tapo

Possible API

For example:

await pantilt.start_cruise(CruiseAxis.HORIZONTAL)
await pantilt.start_cruise(CruiseAxis.VERTICAL)
await pantilt.stop_cruise()

with:

class CruiseAxis(StrEnum):
    HORIZONTAL = "x"
    VERTICAL = "y"

The exact API naming is open for discussion, but keeping cruise would match the underlying Tapo protocol and existing implementations.

It could also expose action features such as:

• ptz_cruise_horizontal
• ptz_cruise_vertical
• ptz_cruise_stop

Device available for testing

I can test this on a physical C200:

• Hardware: 1.0
• Firmware: 1.3.17 Build 260112 Rel.54862n(4555)
• ptz component version: 1

The device is already covered by the fixture added in #1760.

Open question

The C200 advertises PTZ/motor capabilities but does not appear to explicitly advertise cruise support.

It would be useful to determine whether cruise:

1. is available on all compatible PTZ devices,
2. can be detected through another capability/query,
3. or should initially be exposed for PTZ devices and let unsupported devices return the protocol error.

I would prefer avoiding a model-specific whitelist.

Cruise is also a persistent motor mode, so manual pan / tilt / move commands may fail while it is active. I would avoid stopping cruise implicitly unless that behavior is intentional.

Tests

If accepted, I can provide:

• unit tests for horizontal / vertical / stop payloads,
• physical tests on the C200,
• a test for interaction with manual PTZ movement while cruise is active.