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The Spy Wares of a Real-Life Q
Like 007’s Q, Ralph Osterhout has designed ingenious devices for the military and intelligence use, as well as for movies (including Bond flicks) and TV shows. Here are some of his greatest gadget “hits.”

Pen Point

Q and his clever spy gadgets have been as much a part of James Bond films as beautiful women and cool cars. Even though the actor playing 007 has changed many times over the years, Desmond Llewelyn’s portrayal of Q from 1963 to 1999 remained constant, as did his supplying MI6 with everything from an underwater jet pack with explosive-tipped spear guns in "Thunderball" to a remote control surveillance robot that transmitted audio and video in "A View to a Kill."

Meet Ralph Osterhout. This real-life Q has spent more than three decades creating gadgets used by the intelligence and military communities as well as average consumers, as with the Tekna Pen Pointer pictured above. If a laser watch is too conspicuous and arouses suspicion, this pen pointer can serve a similar purpose. It can be attached to a rifle and its miniature focusing mechanism used as an aiming device. And the titanium housing makes for an elegant way for a dashing Bondlike agent to sign the check after dinner with a gal pal.

It should come as no surprise that Osterhout also parlayed his ingenuity for combining intrigue with gadgets into producing props for movies, including two Bond flicks (naturally) and blockbusters like "Jurassic Park" and "Jaws," and that he’s also designed cool toys for tots.

With the latest Bond movie, "Quantum of Solace," set for release soon, here are 19 of Osterhout’s greatest “hits.” As Q often told Bond, “Now pay attention, 007.”
-- Doug Newcomb, Special to MSN Tech & Gadgets

Night Light

First used in Operation Desert Storm and part of the U.S. Army’s battle gear ever since, Osterhout designed the S-Tron PVS-7 night-vision goggles using composite materials to replace an earlier 3.5-pound version. And they’re much less bulky than the clunky ones used by Bond in "The Living Daylights."

Face the Facts

The Inter-4 Facial and Iris Recognition Computer includes a GPS receiver, Mesh networking and an encrypted tactical radio in single device, and allows capturing still pictures or video of a “POI” (person of interest) and remotely comparing the results against a facial- and iris-recognition database. With a range of more than three meters, it’s perfect for checking out a potential Bond girl before she gets too close to determine if she’s friend or foe.

Eye Candy

Q included a helmet cam in the gyrocopter in "You Only Live Twice," but Bond would’ve loved Osterhout’s Inter-4 helmet-mounted camera/display. It simultaneously captures still pictures and video and also displays incoming live video feeds. It will also show the user's position on moving maps, as well the position of "friendlies" and “unfriendlies.”

Small but Deadly

Small weapons that the suave spy conceals and uses to fend off his foes is a Bond trademark. So there’s no doubt that 007 could use the Tekna Credit Card knife with a razor-sharp, double-sided stainless-steel blade that became a recommended "standard carry" for CIA agents.

Riding on Air

This Tekna Diver Propulsion Vehicle cost more than $1.2 million to develop and serves a purpose similar to the underwater jet pack used by Bond in "Thunderball," allowing a diver to swim five times faster than is possible under human power. Its super-elliptical hull, direct-drive motor and variable-pitch propeller also allow a diver to travel more than three miles on a single tank of air.

Jet Stream

The Farallon Diver’s Jet Sled is also 9 feet long but weighs only 215 pounds and can travel at 35 mph for more than 25 miles. A water-cooled gas engine provides the sled’s jet-pump propulsion, and the craft can turn in its own length, for the quick and agile maneuvering required of a master spy in Her Majesty’s Secret Service.