The 10 Most Innovative Products of 2009

In choosing the most innovative products of the year, the editors of Popular Science don't settle for merely beautiful or functional products. Instead, they hunt for innovations that push past what was possible just 12 months ago. We've gathered up the Grand Award winners; visit the magazine's <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009">2009 Best of What's New</a> site for all 100 winners and videos of the neatest in action. (Popular Science)

2010 Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid The hybrid of the future The <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/2010-mercedes-s400-bluehybrid">Mercedes S400 BlueHybrid</a> is the world’s first production car to shift from the nickel-metal-hydride batteries in today’s hybrids to a lighter, more-powerful lithium-ion battery designed expressly for an automobile. The results are impressive. The large, luxurious flagship sedan returned 29 highway mpg during our testing—a 30 percent gain over the V8-powered S550 version—and 21 mpg in the city. (Mercedes-Benz)

Bosch Full Force Technology Nail guns retooled with power, not heft When you pull the trigger on a pneumatic nail gun, a valve releases compressed air to push a piston downward and drive the nail. But most nail guns rob some of the piston’s force to pressurize a return chamber that shoots the piston back after each discharge. <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/bosch-full-force-technology">Bosch’s new nail guns</a> eliminates the return chamber, instead firing a second blast of compressed air to reset the piston. The result is a gun that’s 20 percent smaller yet 10 percent more powerful. (Bosch)

Canon EOS 5D Mark II A still camera changes moviemaking This year, a digital camera snapped the official presidential portrait for the first time. Also this year, the same camera shot commercials, indie films and even parts of network TV shows. That camera was the <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/canon-eos-5d-mark-ii">Canon EOS 5D Mark II</a>, the first digital SLR that shoots full high-definition video. (Canon)

X-Flex Blast Protection System The world's toughest wallpaper Invented by Berry Plastics in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, this <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/x-flex-blast-protection-system">lifesaving adhesive</a> is designed for use anyplace that’s prone to blasts and other lethal forces, like in war or natural-disaster zones, chemical plants or airports.Peel off the sticky backing, apply the rollable sheets to the wall, and X-Flex bonds tightly, helping walls keep their shape after blast waves. (X-Flex)

Wolfram Research WolframAlpha Delivering answers instead of links A typical search engine is a reference librarian: Ask it a question, and it suggests where to find the answer. Enter a few words into <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/wolfram-research-wolframalpha">the WolframAlpha homepage</a>, and a series of algorithms use context and probability to scour more than 10 trillion pieces of data painstakingly curated by a team of 200 researchers. The site then compiles a series of answers and presents them as text, graphs, tables, charts or maps.

3M/Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 With Zargis Cardioscan The wireless scope that never misses a beat 190 years after its invention, the go-to diagnostic tool hanging around every doc’s neck has earned a modern makeover. This <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/3m-health-care-littmann-electronic-stethoscope-model-3200-zargis-medical-corp-cardioscan">sound-amplifying stethoscope</a> listens to a patient’s heartbeat and beams the beats to software that detects abnormalities, eliminating guesswork. (3M/Littmann)

Steward Advanced Materials Thiol-SAMMS: The Toxin Terminator A white powder that can absorb more than half its weight in mercury The product of more than 15 years of research, this simple-looking white powder can get mercury-contaminated water 100 times as clean as any other method, for about half the cost. Each grain is actually <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/steward-advanced-materials-thiol-samms">a carefully engineered molecular sponge</a> designed to absorb more than half its weight in mercury. (Steward Advanced Materials)

NASA Kepler Space Telescope The alien hunter Launched in March, Kepler's goal is to find planets much like our own in distant star systems—Earth-size bodies orbiting their stars in the sweet spot where the temperature is appropriate to support, just maybe, alien life. Using a photometer that’s more than three feet in diameter, <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/nasa-kepler-space-telescope">Kepler</a> is now continuously observing some 100,000 stars located between 600 and 3,000 light-years away. (NASA)

Sea-Doo GTX Limited iS 255 A personal watercraft puts on the brakes Rocketing along the water at 60 mph in a personal watercraft (PWC) is a lot of fun, but it’s not the safest pastime. PWCs make up less than 10 percent of recreational boats yet account for 24 percent of all accidents, in large part because they have no brakes. After eight years of research and development aimed at reversing those gloomy statistics, Sea-Doo finally unveiled <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/sea-doo-gtx-limited-255">the GTX Limited iS 255</a>, the first PWC with on-water braking. (Sea-Doo)

Microsoft Project Natal The Xbox ups the Wii's ante Nintendo brought us the notion of playing games by waving a controller, but Microsoft showed off something even better this year: gaming with no controller at all. A prototype system dubbed <a href="http://www.popsci.com/bown/2009/product/microsoft-project-natal">Project Natal</a> lets Xbox 360 games respond to anything from full-body lunges to subtle hand gestures, voice input and even facial expressions. Unlike the Wii, you don’t hold anything. Your movements and voice control the game. (Microsoft)