Happy Nice Mall

BALTIMORE (AP) – Oriole Park in Camden Yards will test a new security technology that uses 3D imaging and artificial intelligence to detect hidden weapons during the upcoming baseball season.

The Maryland Stadium Authority announced Tuesday that the ballpark will try out a transit portal called Hexwave, which can view 1,000 people an hour, The Baltimore Sun reports.

Developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology lab, the product can perform security checks faster, reducing the need to empty pockets and perform bag checks or inspections.

The stadium authority owns and manages Oriole Park, home of the Baltimore Ravens, and M&T Bank Stadium. It signed a memorandum of understanding with Liberty Defense Holdings, which licenses the technology to test Hexwave for a period to be determined during the 2022 season.

Vernon J. Conaway Jr., vice president of safety and security, said the authority was “extremely confident” in current security measures. He said participating in the trial would test a new technology that could improve the existing system.

The product – unlike metal detectors – can detect non-metal weapons such as ghost weapons, 3D-printed weapons, or liquid and plastic explosives. It operates at a similar but lower frequency to the body scanners used in most airports, Liberty Defense CEO Bill Frain told the newspaper. He said the technology does not pose any health risks or privacy issues.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, “people are getting used to more detection, more scrutiny before they enter an event,” Frain said.

“Unfortunately,” he said, “we’re experiencing events like the shooting at a Michigan school, and they continue to happen in places you wouldn’t expect.”

In development for five years, Hexwave was first beta-tested at a Liberty Defense facility in Atlanta and at its Massachusetts headquarters. The cases will also be conducted at an international airport, a police department, a port and a university, Frain said. He did not specify specific locations.