Marie Van Brittan Brown occupies a prominent place on the list of the most famous black women inventors. In 1966, she developed a home security system. It became the basis for further similar technologies. Read more about Marie and her creations on i-queens.
Early years
Marie Van Brittan Brown was born on October 30, 1922 in Jamaica, Queens. Little is known about her early years. Her husband, Alber Brown, was an electrician. They had two children, Albert Jr. and Norma. Daughter followed the mother’s example and became a nurse and an inventor. She is credited with more than 34 discoveries.
Demand created supply
After a long day at work, nurse Marie often returned home alone late at night. Her husband had an irregular schedule and the woman was afraid to spend the night without him. The crime rate in their region was very high and the police arrived at calls sometimes too late.
Brown worried about her safety and decided to develop a special security system. She came up with a mechanism that consisted of door windows, a retractable camera, monitors and microphones. The camera could move from eye to eye, which were placed at various levels for people of different heights. It transmitted video images to telemonitors that could be placed anywhere. On them, everyone standing behind the door was visible. A microphone enabled conversations between the host and guests.
The most important element was the panic button, which could be used to call the police in case of an emergency. If a person looked like an intruder, it was enough to press the button. If it was a welcome guest, the door was opened via a remote control.
Video surveillance was an advanced technology of the 1960s. Developed during World War II, it was still rare at the time of Marie’s invention. The difference from television broadcasting was that the signal was not transmitted in an open mode but only to a limited number of monitors and/or recording devices. Marie’s husband was well versed in electrical systems and helped make the project a reality. The finished product became the premier motorized camera and such a system.
In August 1966, the couple applied for a patent. In December 1969, they received it. Marie is considered to be the main inventor. For the created mechanism, the woman received an award from the National Science Committee. She also was quoted by the New York Times. Albert Brown was mentioned as a technical expert. The application described the product as an occupant-controlled home security system. Brown has repeatedly emphasized how important it is for a homeowner to have control over their safety.
It was challenging to sell the product to builders due to the high cost. Therefore, the couple decided to test the system in their own home. However, it did not help. They got recognition but could not commercialize the invention.
The basis of the future systems
Marie died in 1999 at the age of 76. During her lifetime, she did not see the development of her idea. Like most geniuses, Brown’s real fame came after her death. Her creations were reproduced and improved by other innovators. It took decades for technology costs to drop enough to bring a system to market. Only in the mid-2000s companies started selling home video surveillance systems. It was nearly half a century after Marie invented the product!
This system became a prototype for video surveillance mechanisms that are actively used in the 21st century. Separate elements of such systems, such as video surveillance, remote-controlled door locks, panic buttons, two-way voice communication and others were developed based on this model.
Although it was originally intended for home use only, many companies decided to adapt it for their own purposes. Thus, it is used by small businesses and offices, mansions and apartment buildings.
Marie became a role model. Many people were inspired by the Queens native and have created similar systems. Thus, Jamie Siminoff founded Ring in 2013 after he was annoyed by people constantly ringing the doorbell. Ring is a home security and smart home device maker owned by Amazon. Ring makes smart doorbells, home security cameras and alarm systems. In 2021, Amazon mentioned Brown in its patent for wireless speakers for audio/video recording and communication devices.