A webcam is an input device that allows computer-users to share what they record

with viewers who are connected to the Internet. While people commonly use
webcams for person-to-person communication, the inventors of the webcam did not
originally design the device for this purpose. Its inventors were not trying to
revolutionize the way we communicate; they were trying to save themselves
unnecessary walks to the coffee pot.
Underlying Motivation
The idea for the webcam dates back to 1991, when Cambridge University
researchers began looking for a way to remotely monitor the coffee pot in the Trojan
Room of the Computer Science Department. The researchers wanted to be able to
see the coffee pot from their desks, so they could tell whether the pot was empty.
That way, the researchers wouldn't have to waste a trip to the Trojan Room for coffee
before it was ready. The first strategy the researchers used in 1991 was to set a
digital camera on the coffee pot and wire it to their computers. A specialized software
allowed the researchers to view the camera's images.
Breakthrough
In 1993, the Cambridge University researchers in the Computer Science Department
took their remote coffee pot-viewing experiment a step further by updating the
images of the digital camera in the Trojan Room to the Internet. In the process, the
researchers created the world's first webcam. The researchers accomplished this
feat by developing a remote procedure call mechanism known as MSRPC2. The
mechanism operated over the multi-service network layer protocol, which was a
network protocol that researchers had designed for use with ATM machines. Using
the MSRPC2 mechanism in conjunction with a computer's video capture board
allowed the Cambridge University researchers to upload one frame per second from
their coffee pot camera on to the web.
Commercialization
While researchers at Cambridge University invented the webcam, they did not
design and sell webcams for widespread use among consumers. The now-defunct
Connectix Corporation has the distinction of being the first organization to produce
commercially available webcams. In 1994, Connectix released the very first
commercial webcam, the QuickCam, which sold for $99. The QuickCam had a
maximum recording resolution of 320 horizontal lines of pixels by 240 vertical lines
of pixels; it could display 16 shades of gray.
Revolution
The webcam did not come into widespread use until the 2000s. As "PC World" points
out, by 2003, Apple, Microsoft and Logitech were designing and selling webcams.
The demand for the webcams rose rapidly due to the development of video calling,
which all of the major instant-messaging service providers began offering in 2003.
As of 2011, people commonly use webcams for real-time, face-to-face
communication. One of the most recent webcam innovations has been the
incorporation of webcams into mobile devices, such as smart phones.