Patent ID: 8885046

Claim:
A semi-trailer, comprising: a main compartment including a cargo-carrying compartment and a hidden compartment that is hidden from view from the cargo-carrying compartment, the hidden compartment being separated from the cargo-carrying compartment by a false end wall, wherein the false end wall extends across an entire width and an entire height of the main compartment and has an appearance of a true end wall; a surveillance system located entirely within the hidden compartment of the semi-trailer such that the surveillance system is concealed from individuals with access to the cargo carrying compartment, the surveillance system comprising one or more subsystems including at least one of a camera system with one or more cameras, a microphone system with one or more microphones, a global positioning system, a closed circuit television system, a recording system with audio and video recorders, power supplies, rechargeable batteries, and access routers; at least one external switch located on an exterior of the main compartment and electrically coupled to at least one subsystem for controlling the at least one subsystem without controlling the entire surveillance system at once, the at least one external switch being a physical and manually operable switch; and another external switch located on the exterior of the semi-trailer and electrically coupled to the surveillance system for controlling the entire surveillance system at once.