Camera on movable arm

A video surveillance system with addressable devices which intercommunicate over a network, the video surveillance system comprising:

• a camera;
• an arm bending mechanism;
• a computing device communicatively coupled to the camera, the computing device configured to transmit, over the network, a command to change a pointing direction of the camera to a desired pointing direction;
• a movable arm coupled to the arm bending mechanism, the movable arm having both a stationary end and a movable end with the camera being attached to the movable end so as to be movable therewith, the stationary end being configured to be coupled to a rigid support structure, and the movable arm including a plurality of arm segments connected in series to form the movable arm, and the arm segments being configured to have cooperating segment regions in terms of each of the arm segments being compressible and expandable in unison under operation of the arm bending mechanism to move the movable end and effect a pan and tilt movement of the camera;
• and
• a controller configured to:
• receive the command from the computing device;
• in response to the command, map the desired pointing direction to a respective requisite position of the movable end of the movable arm;
• and
• cause the arm bending mechanism to bend the movable arm to effect movement of the movable end of the movable arm to the requisite position so that the camera points in the desired pointing direction.

A method of panning and tilting a camera attached to a first end of an electronically-controlled, movable arm, the movable arm having both the first end and a second end which are a movable end and a stationary end respectively, and the method comprising:

• receiving a command to change a pointing direction of the camera to a desired pointing direction;
• in response to the command, mapping the desired pointing direction to a respective requisite position of the movable end of the movable arm;
• and
• causing the movable arm to move the movable end to the requisite position so that the camera points in the desired pointing direction.