I saw something like this on G4 a year or so ago. It was more like a poncho than a shield, so it couldn't have been the thing from the article. As I recall, it worked by bombarding light between layers so that particles would enter on one side, ricochet around the wearer, and emerge on the other side, effectively projecting whatever was behind the person in front of them, and vice-versa.
Of course that's just to the best of my memory, and in any event, you could still sorta' see the guy.