Along with the video system, Marie and her husband created a two-way microphone system

 

 

 Marie Van Brittan Brown

 (October 30, 1922 – February 2, 1999)

 

  Along with the video system, Marie and her husband created a two-way microphone system that would allow for communication between the family and the person at the door. Initially, the invention was difficult to sell to homebuilders because the cost of implementation was so high. 

 

^[7] So, the Browns decided to, initially, build it in their own home hoping that would spark interest in home builders.^[8] She also created a system to unlock the door remotely. Marie knew this would only help them know who was at the door or attempting to enter the home but would not improve the emergency response time. 

 

Knowing that the police or security response was slow she decided that there must be a quicker way for them to alert the authorities. To do so she invented a system that contacted police and emergency responders with just the tap of a button.

 

 She and her husband cited other inventors in their patent, such as Edward D. Phiney^[5] and Thomas J. Reardon. Even now, over fifty years later, her invention is still being used by smaller businesses and living facilities.^[4]