Method and system for remotely guarding an area by means of cameras and microphones

Method and system for remotely guarding an area by means of cameras and microphones at several locations within that area, which are connected to a central surveillance post, comprising the steps of displaying, at an observation screen, the various camera and microphone locations on a map of said area; enabling selective activation, e.g. by an operator, of camera images for zooming in; deriving, per microphone or group of microphones, an attention value based on the sound picked up by that sound source; and outputting, when the attention value passes a predetermined threshold value, a representation of the sound picked up by the sound source causing the threshold passage, called sound representation hereinafter, including an audible and/or visual representation of the location of the sound source causing the threshold passage, called location representation hereinafter. The sound representation may include fragmented parts of the sound picked up by the sound source, the fragmentation being such that the overall semantic intelligibility of the sound is reduced to a level which complies with the relevant privacy regulations related to eavesdropping. The sound representation may in addition be processed such that the intelligibility of the sound is reduced to a level which complies with the relevant privacy regulations related to eavesdropping. The location representation may be performed by means of spatial audible reproduction of the relevant sound representation in the vicinity of said observation screen and/or by means of visual display of the location of the sound source causing said threshold passage.