Surveillance Equipment
Surveillance equipment allows for the continous monitoring of people and places, the desire for which has existed forever. In some cases, the observer wishes to be hidden from the people being watched or listened to; examples include hidden cameras and "bugs," or hidden listening devices. Other times, surveillance equipment is made as visible as possible through signs, conspicuous camera and monitor placement, and other means. In all cases, however, surveillance equipment enhances the observers natural ability to see and listen.
Strategic locations, either man-made or natural, were early forms of visual, or optical, surveillance equipment. A castle tower, the crow's nest of a ship, or a tall tree all provided the "bird's-eye view" essential for surveillance. Combined with optical inventions such as the telescope, early surveillance relied primarily on the human eye.
Modern visual surveillance equipment began with the development of photography. During the American Civil War (1861-65), still photographs were used to gather information. Motion pictures, invented in the 1890s, were quickly adapted for use as surveillance equipment. In World War I (1914-18), motion picture cameras were mounted in balloons floating above the battlefield to monitor enemy troops. As with most surveillance equipment, films were adapted to civilian security use during peacetime. To provide continuous monitoring, movie cameras were set up to run automatically without a human operator. To save film, they used time phase photography, which slowed down the exposure rate. Motion picture cameras were used for surveillance until the 1960s until they were finally replaced by videotape.
Surveillance equipment for listening was also developed for military use. During World War II (1939-45), advances in magnetic tape recording and solid state electronic components were used for espionage. Eavesdropping on telephone communications, known as "wiretapping" became a useful tool for military intelligence and law enforcement. "Bugging" refers to the recording of sounds, usually conversations, without the subject's knowledge. Audial surveillance has relied heavily on advances in miniaturization. As microphones and tape recorders were made smaller and smaller, they became more useful. Concerns about abuses of these inventions eventually led to the Electronic Surveillance Law of 1968, which put limits on the use of such equipment.
The major breakthrough in visual surveillance came with the invention of television, and specifically, closed-circuit television (CCTV). Unlike broadcast television, closed-circuit television connects the camera to designated television monitors by cables. The major advantage of CCTV is the ability to conduct "remote monitoring," whereby numerous cameras are placed at various locations but all the monitors are centrally located. As the cost of television equipment dropped in the 1950s, such systems became a popular means of security for businesses and institutions.
In the 1960s, another breakthrough in surveillance equipment occurred when the emerging technology of videotape recording was combined with CCTV. Magnetic videotape offered many advantages over film, including the ability to be erased and reused. Advances in television cameras made them cheaper, smaller, more durable, and better able to capture images in low light. Videotape recording was standardized with the innovation of videocassette recording (VCR). Through these advances, video surveillance systems became a $1 billion per year industry by the early 1980s.
The video surveillance revolution has continued well into the 1990s. The trends of falling prices and miniaturization have opened vast new markets for video surveillance equipment. No longer the exclusive domain of law enforcement, spies, and security companies, consumers began to use use surveillance equipment to monitor domestic help, babysitters, and even their own children.
In the 1990s, digital technology became the state of the art for surveillance equipment. Images from CCTV and videotape could be digitized and stored on computer disk. Also, software was developed to eliminate the need for human monitoring of video images. Digitized images are compared to a series of "profiles" stored in the computer and the appropriate action is taken. If, for example, the image captured matches the profile for a dog, the system identifies it as such and ignores it. If a human is identified, the system can sound an alarm or call for human intervention. Digital technology facilitates around-the-clock surveillance
"Wireless," or cellular technology, also changed surveillance equipment in the 1990s. Previously, remote monitoring required monitor and camera to be physically connected via cable. Wireless technology allowed remote monitoring dozens, or even hundreds, of miles away. This advancement has tremendous appeal for security companies. From a small number of locations, they can monitor hundreds of cameras located all over the nation.
Although most citizens accept the ubiquitous presence of surveillance equipment, the prospect of being watched and recorded around-the-clock by computers located hundreds of miles away is of concern to many. In the late 1990s, however, the debate over privacy issues has not slowed the development of surveillance equipment.
This is the complete article, containing 776 words
(approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page).
