Self-healing smartphones could soon be a reality

New Delhi: Often we are forced to buy a new smartphone when our existing handset is either too outdated or simply damaged beyond repair.

UK researchers are working on a new type of a material that will allow smartphones the ability to repair themselves.

This new self-repairing material will be made available in the next five years and ready to be integrated into things like smartphones or even nail varnish.

A reporton Business Insider notes that the material, originally developed for aircraft wings, has been made out of a mixture of different carbon-based chemicals and produces a sheet of millions of microscopic spheres which heal the damage through polymerization.

The team from England’s University of Bristol, led by chemist Duncan Wass, drew its inspiration from the human body and put the skin’s self-healing function into a synthetic material.

The new material holds potential in a number of industries including nail varnish, car paint, bicycle frames and wind turbines that don’t crack, and car windshields that could repair themselves after an encounter with an airborne pebble.

In the next five years, smartphone manufacturers might sell their new flagships with self-healing properties, instead of offering additional insurance for damage.