Keeping It Safe

By Maryanne Murray Buechner; Lev Grossman; Anita Hamilton

HEAT SEEKER

The Infrared Fever Screening System, inspired by the recent SARS scare, can't diagnose a medical condition. But it can reveal in a moment whether someone is running a temperature--a sign he or she could be sick and warrant a closer look. The system produces a color-coded thermograph of each passerby: red means hot, green means not. Dozens have been sold for use in airports, hospitals, hotels and other public spaces throughout Asia. INVENTORS Singapore Technologies Electronics and the Singapore Defense Science and Technology Agency AVAILABILITY Now, about $50,000 per unit TO LEARN MORE www.ifss.com.sg

BEYOND RECOGNITION

Dumpster divers who make a living from personal information pulled from the trash don't care what form it comes in--paper, plastic or floppy disc. So why not play it safe? The MD 100 Media Destroyer is a paranoid's dream come true. It flattens raised numbers on old credit and ATM cards before cutting them to ribbons. It shreds a CD in about four seconds, reducing it to shards too small to be used for any kind of data recovery. It slices right through floppy discs, metal clips and all. You have to fold letter-size paper before feeding it through the 5-in. slot, but at least you don't have to remove the staples first. INVENTOR Royal AVAILABILITY Now, $100 TO LEARN MORE royal.com

WHEN THE LIGHTS GO OUT

During the great blackout of August 2003, millions of Americans learned two important lessons: that it is possible to spend an entire evening at home without watching TV and that we should all have backup batteries for our cell phones. For those who need a better contingency plan, this portable fuel-cell generator provides a kilowatt of continuous power for eight hours on a single tank of environmentally correct hydrogen. The AirGen is a tad bulky (about the size of a mini-fridge), but you can roll it under a desk. Unlike a gas-powered generator, it emits only water vapor and heat, so it's safe for indoor use. INVENTOR Coleman AVAILABILITY $5,995, consumer version using low-pressure hydrogen canisters due shortly TO LEARN MORE fuelcellstore.com

BEWARE OF WEAR

Ready for a shocking fashion statement? The No-Contact Jacket may look pretty fly, but it's also a piece of serious personal-defense technology. If the wearer feels threatened in any way, she (so far it's only for women) can activate a switch in either palm that blasts an 80,000-volt electrical pulse through the jacket's material. That's enough to knock anybody back a few paces. Powered by a regular 9-volt battery, the No-Contact Jacket is fully insulated, so the wearer won't feel a thing. Even when it's not in use, it crackles with tiny, visible electrical arcs that send a message. Did we mention that it looks pretty fly? INVENTORS Adam Whiton and Yolita Nugent AVAILABILITY Prototype only TO LEARN MORE no-contact.com