The history of video surveillance: the path from the TV and the Third Reich to the clouds and neural networks

Iconoscope at the exposition of the Czech National Museum of Technology

Watching something (or someone) is dull, sometimes dangerous, but often necessary. People are constantly inventing and improving technical tools that can make life easier and reduce the risk for the observer, as well as improve the quality of observation. The history of remote surveillance systems is counted from the moment of the birth of electronic television, or, more precisely, from the invention of the iconoscope - the electronic tube that transmits an image.

However, observation as a phenomenon arose much earlier than all technical means. Primitive hunters, peeping from under the arches of the cave, already knew about the importance of constant control. In the 19th century, the police visited prisons, where they examined prisoners, remembering their faces and appearance. With the advent of photography, and then television, it became much easier to transmit important information, but the issue of data security has not yet been resolved. Video surveillance should not only record important events, but also, if possible, save them. Forever.

The path to the iconoscope

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Attempts to create equipment for the reception and transmission of television signal were made around the world by a large number of researchers. As early as 1907, an application was filed for the first patent of the electronic television technology “Method of electrical image transmission”. And in 1911, the Russian physicist Boris Rozing succeeded in his laboratory to achieve the reception of images of the simplest figures with the designed kinescope. But the real breakthrough in image definition of electronic television (and the last nail in the coffin of mechanical television ) was the appearance of a transmitting television tube (iconoscope), invented in 1931 by our former compatriot, Russian-American engineer Vladimir Zworykin.

In 1919, Zworykin emigrated to the United States, where he became involved in the technology of transmitting images over a distance. By 1923, working in the company "Westinghouse Electric" he managed to create a television device, which was based on the original transmitting tube with a mosaic photocathode. However, the invention did not make any impression on the owners of the company, and Zvorykin soon had to go to "free swimming". In just a few years, Zworykin alone created many important devices for the future of television (photocells, a sound recording system, and several others).

In 1928, Zworykin met another emigrant from Russia, David Sarnov, vice president of Radio Corporation of America (RCA). As the head of the RCA electronics laboratory, the inventor quickly completed the development of his own high-vacuum television receiving tube - a kinescope. Following this, having improved the technology of accumulating the charge of point photovoltaic cells, Zworykin created an iconoscope. In 1932, with the aid of an iconoscope with a 2.5 kW transmitter installed on the Empire State Building skyscraper, the first experimental transmissions of electronic television began.


Shot from Leonid Parfenov's movie “Zvorykin-Muromets”

The iconoscope (from Greek: εἰκών “image” and σκοπεῖν “look, see”) consists of a vacuum glass bulb inside which a photosensitive target is fixed, onto which an image is projected by a lens, and an electron-beam gun placed on the side or bottom of the lens. The image in the iconoscope falls on a plate with a mosaic of photocells isolated from each other. In those days, this mosaic was created from mica with a photosensitive layer of cesium. But Zworykin perfected the method: a thin silver film was burned on the mica so that it curled up into a multitude of tiny droplets. The plate of the iconoscope (6 x 10 cm) uses 1,200,000 such drops. Every drop is a photocell; When the target is illuminated by the photoelectric effect, silver droplets acquire a positive charge, which is proportional to the illumination.

Vladimir Kozmich not only was engaged in exclusively peaceful television broadcasting systems, but also wanted to build an “air torpedo with an electronic eye,” or, in modern terminology, a guided missile. To demonstrate the concept, in 1937 he hoisted a large iconoscope on a plane and let it fly around the Statue of Liberty. The military on the ground could see the sight on the TV screen in all details, which they were pretty impressed with. RCA received an order for remote-controlled weapons: a planning bomb and an unmanned kamikaze aircraft. The project was eventually recognized as a failure - the television signal was easily jammed by the enemy, but along the way, the Air Force and the US Navy received several television intelligence systems.

From V-2 to VHS

Olympia-Kanone electronic television camera during live broadcast from Berlin Stadium at the Summer Olympics in 1936

As a result of the hard work of scientists from different countries, television systems developed rapidly, and after them real video surveillance appeared in the modern sense. German electrical engineer and television pioneer Walter Bruch established a CCTV system (Closed Circuit Television - closed-circuit television system) at the Peenemünde test site in 1941, where they experienced the famous "vengeance weapon" - the V-2 rocket.


Launch of "V-2" in the summer of 1943

In the research center of the Third Reich, rockets at the start often exploded, and two installed cameras made it possible to follow the launch from a safe distance of 2.5 km. Surveillance data on the malfunctions could greatly help rocket builders, but lacked the ability to record observations. They were able to transfer the image, write down - no. The operator had to sit all the time in front of the monitor in order not to miss anything.


The first video recorder "Ampex VR 1000B", created under the guidance of engineer and innovator Alexander Ponyatov

In 1951, the first VTR (VideoTape Recorder) devices appeared, recording an image on a magnetic tape. They were about the size of a desk, but cost "like a cast-iron bridge." The first video recorder, created in 1956, was able to fully record sound and images on a magnetic tape using magnetic video heads, but at the same time cost $ 50,000. For comparison, the Chevy Corvette cost about $ 3,000. However, this did not prevent the rapid growth in popularity of the device - after six months the device was used in all leading television studios in the USA.


Visit of the Thai royal family to London in July 1960

From the end of the 50s, cameras began to be put on the roads, in crowded places, on important objects. In 1960, the police in London installed two cameras on Trafalgar Square - specifically to watch the crowd gather to watch the official visit of the Thai royal family. After the visit, the cameras were removed - this kind of equipment cost millions of dollars at that time.


Monitoring system in the central control of the Munich police, 1973

By the end of the decade, remotely controlled turning mechanisms for cameras were invented, which made it possible to put one camera where previously several were needed. And yet video surveillance posts were equipped with dozens of monitors - each camera needed its own. Operators had to constantly run their eyes over the entire array of monitors, their attention was scattered.


The first device providing the possibility of video calling was introduced on April 20, 1964.

In 1969, a patent was issued for a home security system (video intercom) that allows you to see on the TV screen who is behind the door and remotely unlock the lock.

When video surveillance captured the world

The new era of video surveillance began with the invention of household video recorders in the early 70s. Video recordings became available to individuals, and cameras began to appear everywhere: in homes, shops, banks, and educational institutions. Now, the witness did not have to say in court that he would recognize the thief in the defendant - the VHS-cassette with the recording of the incident was attached to the case.

With the advent of multiplexers that allow you to display an image from several cameras on one monitor and record it on a single cassette, video surveillance has become truly convenient. But there is no limit to perfection: in the 1980s cameras, no longer based on a cathode-ray tube, but on a CCD array (CCD, charge-coupled device - the general designation of the class of semiconductor devices that use the technology of controlled charge transfer) semiconductor volume). The resolution of the matrices of the first CCD cameras left much to be desired, but they were smaller and at times more photosensitive than the old cameras.



Another qualitative leap in video surveillance occurred in the 90s, when fully digital systems appeared. Video recorders equipped with hard disks, learned to record the image in a circle, when the "tail" of the recording overwrites the beginning, as well as to include recording when motion is detected. Video cameras appear in ATMs, the first baby monitor has been released to the market, and personal computers have received a fundamentally new peripheral device - a webcam. Cameras are equipped with sensors and record the motion detection or sound.

The new millennium - a new round of video surveillance, which has become a network. IP-cameras transmit the image through the network, both local and via the Internet, and the DVR can be located anywhere, or you can do without it by adjusting the computer for storing records. In parallel with this, in the 2000s, video analytics systems were recognized that were able to recognize objects and events in the frame, due to which observation and analysis of video recordings became simpler and accelerated many times.

Modernity and Future

IP camera that stores the archive in the cloud

The boom of "clouds" of the beginning of the 2010s gave its fruits, cloud technologies have come to many industries, including video surveillance. The cloud-capable camera is strikingly different from the classic IP camera: ease of deployment and configuration without any problems, minimum maintenance, availability of recordings anytime, anywhere, integration with almost any web services. Where formerly spreading IP-system with DVRs and video analytics servers, now it is enough to hang modern cloud cameras, putting all the headache on the share of the service provider.

But the main innovation introduced by cloud systems is not this. The way records are stored has changed drastically. Local DVRs are vulnerable and potentially unreliable - their hard drives fail or simply fill up, and to steal records, it is enough for an attacker to have physical access to the device. In the cloud storage, the data is encrypted, backed up, and guaranteed to be available (if, of course, your Internet channel is working) - while they are stored theoretically forever. The cloud provider is responsible for the quality of the service with their money, which means that you can expect that no accidents, such as administrator activity, overheating or filling up the hard disk, or even unauthorized persons entering the premises, will not lead to loss or compromise of records.


Engineer Nvidia weaned cats shit on the lawn, using a video surveillance system, machine vision and deep learning

It may seem that video surveillance systems have reached the “ceiling” of development. However, if we continue the chronological series of innovations in this industry, it becomes clear that by 2020 we should expect a new breakthrough, which will again radically change the ideology of remote observation. Most likely, the new stage of development will be associated with the improvement of the systems for recognizing the behavior of objects. Already, neural networks can perform a quick analysis of certain objects during translation. After a few years, they will be able to identify many events - for example, illegal actions - and automatically adjust the entire system to changing conditions in real time. Surveillance cameras with neural networks and clouds will become truly intelligent: they will not only record events, but also decide what to do next: send a notification to the system administrator, call for help, save passive monitoring, etc.