Who Knew? Home Security Systems Actually Date Back to 1853

Home security systems have become a multi-billion dollar industry worldwide and in the US, expected to exceed $18 billion by 2027.

Home security dates back over 170 years

According to Safehome,org,  72 percent of US homeowners have some sort of security system. 42 percent use video, 37 percent video doorbells, 11 percent have access control systems (being able to remotely lock and unlock doors) and 32 percent have alarm systems installed.

The history of home security actually goes back in the US to 1853. A man named Augustus Russell Pope designed an electromagnetic device that chimed a bell when a door or window in a building was opened.   Four years later, Pope's invention and patent were purchased, and there began the effort to create the modern doorbell.

In 1966, a woman living in Queens, Marie Van Buren Brown, patented the first-ever video surveillance recording device, her patent was approved in 1969, and it also included the first-ever locking and unlocking device for doors.

In the 1970s computers allowed video cameras to be linked together for video security, much like what is seen in retail stores today.

In 1996, the first networked home or business-use cameras were invented, they could be shared on the same circuit.  When Wi-Fi appeared in 1997, it greatly expanded these security cameras.

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In 2013, the 'Ring' doorbell was invented, the first-ever Wi-Fi-controlled such device.

By 2019, facial recognition began to be used in more sophisticated security systems, and now experts say in 2023, the arrival of AI, or artificial intelligence, is already being explored to see how it can enhance security.

Hard to believe though, it all began in 1853.  No information is available as to whether the electromagnetic door or window ringer was ever commercially produced.