National Geographic Channel's 'Explorer' Examines High-Tech Surveillance in the 21st Century - It's not Science Fiction. It's Reality.

National Geographic Channel's 'Explorer' Examines High-Tech Surveillance in the 21st Century - It's not Science Fiction. It's Reality.

Go Behind Security Doors of the Secret, Often Disturbing World of Surveillance Technology

WASHINGTON, April 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Invisible eyes are searching for criminals and terrorists. But at what price? Is eavesdropping on private calls without a warrant a brazen violation of civil liberties? Or is it a vital and justifiable protection of the American public's safety? Today, political controversy rages over the recently revealed wiretapping of U.S. citizens without warrants. But for the average citizen, the underlying question remains: Are we quickly entering a world of total surveillance? Will surveillance technology eventually invade our bodies and our homes and pervade our daily lives?

National Geographic Channel's 'Explorer' takes us behind security doors and deep inside the intricate surveillance networks, exposing the invisible eyes and electronic trails that can spy on what we do and where we've been. Premiering Wednesday, April 19, at 9 p.m. ET/PT, 'Explorer: Science of Surveillance' shows viewers the secret, often disturbing world of surveillance, and the newly developed technology that may lead to a future with nowhere to hide.

On street corners in London, thousands of mechanical lenses loom, following nearly every move of its citizens. At casinos in Las Vegas, high- tech surveillance systems hidden 40 feet above zoom in on the dial on a wristwatch. In Dubai's airport, a mandatory iris scan identifies an attempted illegal entrant. And in New York City, helicopters equipped with infrared technology prowl the night sky, searching for criminal behavior from above, but also capturing the private lives of citizens on tape. All over the globe, surveillance technologies abound.

'Explorer' takes viewers inside these surveillance technologies at work -- from the failures of elaborate systems in preventing attacks, to current struggles over the intrusion of biometrics, to the promising technologies of the future, where the goal is to identify one person anywhere in the world.

Viewers will learn about advancements made in facial and iris recognition; implanted electronic I.D. chips and backscatter technology, which can see through metal and show organic compounds, such as plastic explosives. Viewers will also witness the possibilities of 3-D imagery tied to global satellite tracking at a high-tech laboratory of the future. It's not science fiction. These technologies are becoming reality.

Drawing from a wide range of sources, including interviews with leading scientists, top law and legal professors, security directors, surveillance inspectors and venturesome embracers of the technology, 'Explorer' presents a comprehensive and compelling look at this ubiquitous, yet often elusive technology.

Hanspeter Pfister, a senior research scientist at Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories (MERL) in Cambridge, Mass., is among those leading the way in facial recognition. With 2-D technology, even disguised suspects -- with eyeglasses, a mustache, strange hair and a beard -- can still be identified. Now, 3-D technology is under way to create a composite image of a face, recognizable from all angles. What does this technology hold for the future?

At this same laboratory, 'Explorer' also takes viewers on a fictional hunt for a criminal. In this 3-D, high-tech control room of tomorrow, a global hunt begins for the FBI-wanted man "Thomas O'Connor." Scientists enter a composite image of O'Connor's face into a recognition database. Facial recognition software tied to millions of webcams placed on streets and buildings around the world and in the United States seeks a match. In New York City, a sensor goes off, revealing the man in the hallway of a bank building. Patrol units are then dispatched to the scene to make an arrest. It's an amazing display of what's possible. And the fact is all these technologies already exist.

"We have devices and payment systems, which leave behind little trails like contrails behind jet planes," says Eben Moglen, professor of law and legal history at Columbia Law School. "And surveillance in the 21st century now means picking up those trails and following right behind us in our footprints, or even leaping ahead and predicting where we're going to be before we get there."

'Explorer: Science of Surveillance' shows how millions of us expose ourselves everyday to a wired, digital world, where our lives can be watched, tracked and shared. For better or worse, we are living in a surveillance society. And in the future world of total surveillance, there may be nowhere to hide. As surveillance technology becomes ever more amazing -- the ongoing controversy is sure to continue.

'Explorer' is produced for the National Geographic Channel (NGC) by National Geographic Television & Film. Executive producer is Charles Poe. For 'Science of Surveillance,' Peter Yost is producer and writer. Anna Auster is editor; Kate Sweeney is co-producer; Erin Harvey is field producer. For NGC, vice president of production is John Bowman; senior vice president of production is Michael Cascio; executive in charge of production is John Ford.

Based at the National Geographic Society headquarters in Washington, D.C., the National Geographic Channel (NGC) is a joint venture between National Geographic Television & Film (NGT&F) and Fox Cable Networks. Since launching in January 2001, NGC initially earned some of the fastest distribution growth in the history of cable and more recently the fastest ratings growth in television. The network celebrated its fifth anniversary January 2006 with the launch of NGC HD which provides the spectacular imagery that National Geographic is known for in stunning high definition. NGC has carriage with all of the nation's major cable and satellite television providers, making it currently available to 59 million homes. For more information, please visit http://www.nationalgeographic.com/channel.

Source: National Geographic Channel

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