BIRMINGHAM – Hidden from public view at Super Bowl XL, spectacular live-action 3D holograms will be created from signals streaming in from networks of electronic eyes. These live-action holograms will help Homeland Security Agency officials detect people and objects suspected of endangering the 65,000 ticket holders crowding into Ford Field, and the thousands more who will gather in downtown Detroit to celebrate.

Super Bowl XL marks the first use of this new technology, LifeVision3D, for a large-scale public security operation. It?s the creation of privately held Intrepid Defense & Security Systems based in Birmingham.

Remote cameras and sensors will stream signals to Intrepid displays hidden in a security van where, for the first time, security officials will be viewing three-dimensional, live-action holography capable of revealing shadows, angles, depths and details beyond the ability of conventional imaging.

Mark Hammond, Deputy Director, Wayne County Department of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, believes the technology being used to enhance security at Super Bowl XL ?should be looked at as a ?must have? for every government agency and every company that has protection issues to deal with.?

“This is a technology that you must see in person to believe,” he said. “You can?t photograph it. Words don?t convey its impact. What happens? You sit in front of a TV-like screen, without wearing goggles or those funny 3-D movie glasses. As signals stream in from live stereo cameras or other sensors, the screen in front of you comes alive in full-color, three-dimensional, live-action.”

The action appears to move out from the surface of the screen and envelop you. You become a participant, not just an observer. In a highway sequence, for example, cars would come up from behind and suddenly appear in your peripheral vision before passing you. An object speeding directly toward you ? a football hurled by the Steelers? quarterback, for instance ? instinctively makes you want to receive it or to duck for cover. It?s that realistic.

While Homeland Security may decide not to go public with the details, the surveillance effort is likely to include;

Scanning the undersides of vehicles for suspicious objects

Miniature video cameras for face-in-the-crowd recognition and feature-matching

Remote monitoring of street-level festivities, day and night

Classified methods of searching for and detecting potential threats

For Super Bowl operations, Intrepid is working with Codespear LLC, also headquartered in Birmingham. Codespear is Wayne County Homeland Security?s prime contractor for secure communications and alerts at Super Bowl XL. Codespear president Paul Hodges says Codespear and Intrepid technologies ?merge seamlessly? to provide realtime surveillance and visual analyses.

After more than a decade in development, LifeVision3D now is ready for production and sale, said Intrepid CEO James Fischbach. ?Opportunities are opening up with government agencies, the military, entertainment, medicine, and just about everyplace where people are starting to appreciate what they can accomplish with live-action 3D holography.”