The World's Most Innovative Products and Technologies Showcased in the 15th Annual Popular Science `Best of What's New' Issue

NEW YORK--Nov. 7, 2002--Popular Science Magazine honors the world's most outstanding breakthrough products and technologies in its highly anticipated 15th Annual December, Best of What's New issue on newsstands Tuesday, November 12, 2002.

Throughout the year, Popular Science reviews thousands of new products and innovations and features a select few in its monthly What's New department. A total of 100 winners in ten categories (Auto Technology, Aviation & Space, Cars, Computers, Electronics, General Technology, Home Technology, Medical Technology, Photography and Recreation), including ten Grand Prize winners, make it into the coveted Best of What's New issue. Each award winner represents a significant step forward in its category.

"The range of products and technologies we consider is huge," says Popular Science editor in chief, Scott Mowbray. "This year we've given awards to a genetically modified 'knockout pig' used in medical research, the new Nissan Z car, a remarkable new cell-phone-PDA combination, and a fantastic bit of engineering in Scotland. It's this scope of subject that makes this a reader favorite. And there are dozens of products, from digital cameras to flat-screen TVs, that people will buy with confidence because of our awards."

To celebrate the 15th annual Best of What's New, Popular Science is teaming up with eBay for an auction of select Best of What's New items including a Logitech Pocket Digital, a Taylormade R500 Series driver, an Olympus C-730 and more. All of the auction's proceeds will go to the City of Hope National Medical Center and Beckman Research Institute, one of the world's leading research and treatment centers for cancer, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and other life-threatening illnesses. The auction begins November 11 and concludes November 21 at ebay.com/popsci2002.

Popular Science Properties is a division of Time4 Media(TM), the world's leading publisher of leisure-time magazines. Founded in 1872, Popular Science is the world's largest science and technology magazine with a circulation of 1.45 million subscribers and a readership of more than seven million people. Time4 Media(TM) is a subsidiary of Time, Inc., which is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, Inc. .

POPULAR SCIENCE BEST OF WHAT'S NEW--ABBREVIATED LIST

MetaPad/Mobile Computing Core (Computers Grand Award)

Engineer Ken Ocheltree's team at IBM Research in Yorktown Heights, New York, was working on shrinking a PC to the smallest possible size when they hit on an unconventional idea: Break the computer into mix-and-match components, and let users decide how many they need. The result was a versatile, multipart system they called MetaPad.

IBM has licensed the MetaPad design to Antelope Technologies, a newly formed venture that's renamed it the Mobile Computing Core (MCC). In addition to the core ($2,600), Antelope is offering a desktop cradle ($495), a handheld unit ($1,400), a laptop module (about $1,600), a wearable cradle (approximately $500) plus head-mounted display ($2,000) and, in the future, mini-tablet and mega-tablet devices. Because the prices are still relatively high, the early target market is workers in the medical, engineering, and pharmaceutical industries and the military, according to Antelope CEO Ken Geyer. But consumers have already expressed interest in the MCC suite through phone calls and e-mail messages, and Antelope hopes to begin mass production within a year or so to bring the costs within reach.

AirScooter Personal Flying Vehicle (Aviation Space)

After years of development, testing and painstaking weight-shaving, Woody Norris--the man behind hypersonic sound, page TK--brought his AirScooter personal flying vehicle one major step closer to production in 2002: He added a lightweight four-stroke engine, which uses a titanium crankshaft, ceramic-lined cylinder walls and full computer controls. The AirScooter, demonstrated exclusively to Popular Science this summer, clocks in just under 254 pounds, so it qualifies as an ultralight aircraft and thus requires no pilot's license. Yet it'll cruise at 65 mph at 50 feet for up to two hours. Norris hopes to begin selling them next year for around $25,000.

Self-Healing Minefield (General Technology)

We give this award with a little trepidation, but these are antitank mines--not the buried anti-personnel mines that kill or injure 26,000 civilians each year. More importantly, their built-in smarts will save soldiers' lives. Developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the minefield--which completed its first phase of testing this year--consists of networked, surface-scattered antitank mines that automatically hop around and reposition themselves to fill in any breaches. Tiny rocket thrusters or mechanical pistons propel them with 1-meter accuracy. But perhaps the system's finest achievement is that operators can deactivate it by remote control; and if the mines lose contact with each other or their commander, they'll self-destruct in 30 days.

BMW ActiveSteering (Auto Technology)

The inevitable compromise: Responsive cars are twitchy at speed, while stable high-speed cruisers run slalom like a freight train. BMW ActiveSteering, demonstrated in prototype this year, takes a revolutionary approach: A planetary gearbox bisects the steering column, allowing a small electric motor to either increase or reduce the steering inputs from the driver. At low speeds (that means below 75 to the Germans), the wheels turn farther for the same steering-wheel displacement, aiding handling. Above 75 the motor runs in reverse, creating less wheel movement and more stability. Expect to see ActiveSteering on the 2004 5 Series.

SawStop Table Saw (Home Technology)

More than 3,000 Americans lose a finger to their table saws each year--and at least 10 times that many are injured. SawStop promises to ease the carnage. Invented three years ago, the technology charges the blade with a 3-volt signal. Touch it and the saw detects your skin's natural charge, sending a spring-loaded wedge into blade to stop it in 3 milliseconds. Inventor Stephan Gass had hoped to license SawStop to tool makers, but found no takers. Now, he's coming out with his own line of tools, demonstrating a 10-inch model this year. Expect it to cost 15 percent more than comparable table saws.

Buell XB9R Firebolt (Recreation)

Domestic motorcycles have been known to be more show than go, but the Buell XB9R Firebolt gives sport-bike riders a machine that does America proud. Its most innovative feature: To shave weight--it's a featherweight at 385 pounds--the all-aluminum frame doubles as the 3.7-gallon gas tank and its rear swingarm carries the engine oil. Sounds good, but it's even better on the pavement. The 92-horsepower bike, introduced in April, is available at Harley-Davidson dealers for $9,995.

Minolta DiMage Xi (Photo)

Digital cameras have come in two varieties--loaded and small. But with Minolta's DiMage Xi, there's no need to choose between size and sizzle. Barely bigger than a deck of cards, it's the first easily pocketable camera with a full set of out-of-pocket features like 3X optical zoom, built-in flash, 8MB memory card and 3.2-megapixel sensor. The zoom, in fact, never pokes outside the sleek metallic body, thanks to a unique vertical lens system. If that's not enough, the Xi also has the world's fastest startup time for an optical zoom camera: 1.2 seconds. Price: $499.

VKB Virtual Keyboard (Electronics)

Meet the PDA keyboard of the future: VKB Inc.'s nifty Virtual Keyboard beams a QWERTY onto the workspace in front of you. Break the light beam and the device registers your keystroke. Licensee Siemans recently began offering it as a chewing-gum-pack-size PDA accessory, but the technology's greatest promise will come when it's integrated into PDAs and cellphones. That will happen within two to five years.

Honda Element (Cars)

Practical teenagers? An oxymoron to parents the world over, but that's who Honda hopes to entice with its funky Element--arguably the most utilitarian sport-utility ever built. The Element's rubber floors can be hosed down, while suicide doors open wide for easy cargo stuffing. There's also a detachable roof for more sun and fun, and four-wheel drive gets you across the occasional dirt road. And how's this for practical: 25 mpg on the highway and a base price of $16,000.

LifePoint 10-Drug Breathalyzer (Medical Technology)

Identifying a driver under the influence is about to become easier. LifePoint Impact System not only checks for alcohol, but for nine other drugs as well, including marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, opiates and angel dust. It's the first onsite saliva-based test that goes beyond alcohol, providing results in less than 5 minutes. Introduced in July, Impact mixes saliva with florescent chemicals that bind to drug and alcohol molecules. Several police departments are now testing the system. Price: $12,500.