If you're considering installing a home security system on your property, the chances are that you've already been researching online about the system that is right for you and your security needs. Whilst looking around for the best home security system, however, you may have wondered at one point or another who invented the first home security system and where it came from?
Well, in this blog, we try to answer this question by taking a brief look at the history of home security to find out where home security first started and the origins of the home security systems of today!
Marie Van Brittan Brown
Marie Van Brittan Brown, an African American inventor was the first person credited with invented the first closed-circuit television was also the person who introduced the world's first home security system.
The invention was inspired by the security risk posed on her home. Marie Brown who worked as a nurse and her husband, Albert Brown, who worked as an electronics technician, felt the need to come up with something that provided added security to their home which was located in Jamaica, Queens, New York.
At the time, the level of crime around her neighbourhood was high and police response time was often very slow, coupled with the pair working irregular and long hours, Marie Brown felt unsafe in her home so decided to take matters into her own hands and come up with a way to increase her level of personal security. She decided to invent something that allowed her to see who was at her door whenever someone knocked and contact the relevant authorities as quickly as possible.
In 1966, the initial thought led to the very first home security system, which consisted of four peepholes, a sliding camera, television monitors, two-way microphones and an alarm button that could be pressed to contact the police immediately. This invention created the basis for the two-way communication and surveillance features of every modern-day home security system.
Three separate peepholes were placed on Brown's front door at different height levels to see people of varying heights. On the opposite side of the door, a camera was attached that could slide up and down to allow Brown to see the person through each peephole. This would allow Brown to identify the person at her door via a wireless system that reflected the images on a monitor that could be placed anywhere around her home. If the person Brown saw was allowed in, the door could be unlocked via remote control. However, if the person was deemed a threat, Brown could notify the police through the push of a button.
On August 1st, 1966, Marie & Albert Brwon filed for a patent for their invention under the title "Home Security System Utilizing Television Surveillance.", which was the first of its kind. Their application was approved three years later on December 2nd, 1969.
Following the approval, Brown's invention gained well-deserved recognition which included an award from the National Scientists Committee and an interview with The New York Times. They reported, “With the patented system, a woman alone in the house could alarm the neighborhood immediately by pressing a button, and installed in a doctor’s office it might prevent holdups by drug addicts.”
Marie Brown's invention laid the foundation for the security systems that were later created, utilising many of the same features including push-button alarm triggers, remote-controlled door locks and instant messaging to security provider and emergency services.
Brown later died in 1999 at the age of 76 but her legacy continues through the many home and business security systems that are used till this very day.
Our home security systems
Here at IDS Security Systems, you can find a range of comprehensive and bespoke home security systems that feature some of the very same features as Marie Brown's system.
Whatever your home security needs, we are able to create a security system that matches to keep you, your family and your belongings safe on a 24/7 basis.
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