INSTANT PORTABLE SHELTERS:

A defense contractor said Tuesday it will start building portable shelters for natural disasters and war zones that quickly unfold like a Transformer toy.

The shelters come with an onboard diesel generator to power heating, ventilation and air conditioning and unfold with the push of a button. They can also have showers and toilets.

Keith Buckner, Adaptive Methods vice president of manufacturing, said the Centreville, Va.-based company bought the rights to build and market the hard-walled shelter system, which was developed by researchers at the Y-12 National Security Complex at Oak Ridge.

Sounds cool. But, as the commenters point out, a bit pricey.