At Super Bowl XLV, a greener security force

Super Bowl XLV was attended by more than 103,000 fans. So how do you manage security for such an event?

First, you set aside $10 million for costs. Then you start planning -- two years ahead, in fact. You get the game designated a National Special Security Event by the U.S. Secret Service. You hire a fleet of NORAD fighter jets, a team of snipers, an array of chemical and biological detection devices and perhaps best of all, bomb-retrieving robots.

And then you breathe.

This is all true, of course. But how do you monitor action from the ground without inciting fear in fans?

The Arlington Police Department announced on Friday that it deployed 10T3 electric stand-up vehicles to get its patrol officers around the massive -- to the tune of 140 acres -- new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, the largest domed stadium in the world.

The department says the upright vehicles allowed officers to move around quickly and stay mobile while remain face-to-face with fans milling about the stadium grounds.

The vehicles are considered "green" because they run on two rechargeable, removable batteries that cost less than 10 cents a day to charge, according to Orange County, Calif.-based maker T3 Motion.

Combine that with a speed of up to 20 miles per hour -- hold on to your hats, officers -- and a zero-degree turning radius and you've got a formidable way to control a crowd. (Though the nine-inch raised platform helps.)

Go long, sergeant!

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com