Body Armor With Built-in Stun Gun, Flashlight and Cameraphone Charger

he Armstar Bodyguard 9XI-HD01 looks a bit like that scary black body armor that Christian Bale wears in the recent Batman movies. And it is kind of like that, actually.

The Bodyguard, which was patented by a California inventor in 2007 under the title of "wearable shield and self-defense device," is designed to be a shield, a non-lethal weapon and a communications device all in one [source: Justia.com]. The flexible arm, which is armored with Kevlar and hard plastic, contains a rechargeable lithium battery pack that powers an "electronic deterrent" device built into the arm's artificial skin. All the user has to do is pull a pin, and an assailant who grabs his or her arm is going to get zapped with electricity. The Bodyguard is also equipped with a bright LED flashlight, an HD camera capable of transmitting pictures, and a charging slot into which an iPhone apparently fits nicely.

We could see this gadget becoming an indispensible tool for law enforcement officers and bodyguards of the future, but given that you have to inquire about it to get a price quote, we're guessing that it'll be too costly to make much of a dent into the everyday suburban adventurer market.