As the exciting new "Borg Invasion 4D" prepares to open on March 18 at the Las Vegas Hilton, STARTREK.COM spoke with Technifex Inc., one of the key developers employed by Paramount Parks, the company responsible for the overall realization of this amazing attraction.

Technifex is one of several other design, media and manufacturing companies who worked on "Borg Invasion 4D." The creators of this new attraction took the opportunity to embrace the cutting edge by using the latest in 3-D and 4-D effects to enhance the experience of  those daring enough to be assimila ... uh, to participate in the attraction. Technifex, who worked on the project for nearly nine months, will be making sure that participants in this state-of-the-art attraction are resting "comfortably" ... they are responsible for the seats!

Rock Hall, chairman and co-owner of Valencia, CA-based Technifex, Inc. recently spoke with STARTREK.COM about his company's role in helping to craft this unique blending of technology and entertainment. He describes his company as a custom fabricator, among other things. "We are also a show general contractor. We have done other theaters; we were also technical producer for "Tomb Raider" for Paramount's King's Island in Ohio."

"BI4D" is certainly a big challenge, given the scope of the project and the exacting standards to which Star Trek attractions must adhere. "It certainly is one of our biggest challenges," says Rock. "Anytime you're dealing with Star Trek, you're dealing with very specific design elements. Everything has to fit that particular look. Incorporating special effects into three dimensional scenery so that it fits with the style of Star Trek is always a challenge. We've taken what we call 4-D seats, which are theater chairs that have special effects installed within the seat. Not only have we done that, but we've made them look like they belong on a starship, with a specific design. And, we've put them on a 50-passenger motion platform which is not like a simulator, but still is a moving floor."

No strangers to the world of Trek, Technifex worked on the first Star Trek: Experience ["Klingon Encounter"], focusing on the restaurant, Quark's Bar, and Space Quest Casino. "We've been in and around it ever since it opened."

The job of putting together some of the components of "BI4D" involves not only cooperation with other developers, but certain elements of Star Trek production as well. "We certainly, in a roundabout way, got involved with some of the props from the films and had to recreate those in such a way as to be durable and could be used in the Experience. From that point of view there was some interaction with the studio, but mostly it was the design team from Paramount Parks."

As for the other vendors involved, Rock notes that a company called Electrosonics provided technical direction while Las Vegas-based Themeing Solutions created the scenic elements, construction, supervision and theming. The design and art direction was from a company called Nextep Design, Inc., while Threshold Digital Research Labs worked on the media production.

Rock explains that their usual project time is a bit longer than what they got to work with on "BI4D." "Ordinarily you wouldn't even look at something like this unless you had a year. This project took between six to nine months, so there was a bit of hoop-jumping for everybody. Paramount has been able to pull it off in a very tight timeframe."

To make this new show work and provide some jaw-dropping entertainment, the creators are using an array of new technologies. "We have low-powered lasers for certain areas of the show," he reveals. "And we have electro-luminescent wire to help create some of the effects used in the costumes. We are using very high-powered spot lights that are optically changed to a very tight beam of light to simulate a laser without doing any damage. It's a mix of different things really." Not to mention that many of the effects will be seen up close by the visitors and must withstand the scrutiny that entails. Effects for TV and movies are a lot different to those in a live-action attraction such as this.

Technifex remain busy and are looking beyond the Borg. Currently they are working on a project in Italy, providing some interactive animal exhibits for the Lincoln Park Zoo, and they are completing final testing for Universal's "Mummy" attraction in Orlando.

"Borg Invasion 4D" promises to be one memorable experience, helped in no small part by companies such as Technifex.