Patent ID: 8208024

Claim:
A system for acquiring video data within an environment, the system comprising: a device including an image acquisition component, an audio acquisition component, a speaker, and a control interface all provided within an enclosure that is configured to be mounted to a portion of a user, wherein the image acquisition component is configured to be utilized to acquire video data from a first viewpoint within the environment; a local data communication system configured to be mounted to the person and to receive an electrical signal indicative of video data from the image acquisition component and configured to transmit video data; a surveillance component that is fixed to a structure within the environment and configured to acquire video data from a second viewpoint within the environment that is elevated with respect to the first viewpoint, wherein the environment includes one or more objects, which block dark areas behind the objects from the second viewpoint, and the first viewpoint is mobile and configured to periodically access the dark areas; and a remote data communication system that is remote from the device and configured to simultaneously receive video data from the local data communication system and video data from the surveillance component; wherein: the image acquisition component collects video data independently from the collection of audio data by the audio acquisition component, the controller interface permits the user to independently turn on and off each of video data acquisition by the image acquisition component and audio data acquisition by the audio acquisition component.