02/28/2022
Have you ever wondered how surveillance security systems exist? If you have, then Marie Van Brittan Brown is the reason why. If you haven't heard of her, she was the first African American female inventor to design and engineer the first home security surveillance system.
Living in a high-crime neighborhood in 1960’s segregated America, Brown naturally felt unsafe at night after working long hours while her husband was out working late at night as an electronics technician.
To increase her safety at night, Brown decided to figure out a system of accurately identifying who was at her door whenever somebody knocked. To solve her problem in 1966, Brown and her husband designed a security system that consisted of a sliding camera, four peepholes, a few television monitors, and two-way microphones.
Little did everyone know at the time that these devices had created a closed-circuit television system for surveillance also known as CCTV. The sliding camera captured images of individuals and the two-way microphones allowed Brown to talk with the person outside her door. In addition to the design, Brown integrated a remote that gave her the ability to unlock her door from a certain distance. She even implemented a button that when pressed sends an emergency signal to the authorities to alert them of suspicious activities.
By 1969, the couple’s ingenious invention was finally patented, and Brown received an award from the National Scientists Committee for her outstanding achievements. In 1999, she passed away at the age of 76, but her name, legacy, and invention continue to live on. Brown's savvy invention was later applied in many areas of public safety.
Thanks to Brown, banks, schools, homes, and hospitals are a lot safer and more vigilant because of her invention. Her invention even added more clarity to law enforcement where any crimes committed that are captured on surveillance systems can be used as evidence in a court of law.
