Security cameras were first invented during World War II, with the earliest documented closed-circuit television (CCTV) system created in 1942 by German engineer Walter Bruch. This initial system was used to monitor V-2 rocket launches safely from a distance. The first commercially available CCTV systems appeared in 1949 by an American company called Vericon. However, the first modern home security camera system was invented in 1966 by Marie Van Brittan Brown and her husband in New York. They designed a camera system to enhance home security by projecting images onto a monitor, revolutionizing residential security.
Key Milestones in Security Camera History
- 1927: Léon Theremin developed an early rudimentary video surveillance system used secretly in the Soviet Union, though it was not fully commercialized.
- 1942: Walter Bruch's invention of the first practical CCTV system for military use in Germany.
- 1949: Commercial CCTV systems first available in the United States.
- 1966-1969: Marie Van Brittan Brown invented the first home security camera system.
- 1970s and beyond: Advancement with videotape recorders (VTRs), VCRs, digital video recorders (DVRs), and eventually IP cameras made surveillance more practical, affordable, and advanced.
Thus, while the roots of security cameras trace back to the early 1940s military technology, modern security cameras as we know them, especially for home use, began around the mid-1960s.
