Nissan is Testing a Self-Healing iPhone Case

POST

MAIL

Posted January 16, 2012 at 4:07pm by iClarified

Nissan has announced that it's begun testing of a self-healing iPhone case.

According to a press release from the company, the Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case features the brand's pioneering self-healing paint finish, a world first in paint technology developed in 2005 and already used on a number of Nissan and Infiniti models.

-
Developed by Nissan in collaboration with University of Tokyo and Advanced Softmaterials Inc., the unique Scratch Shield paint finish was initially designed for automotive use and is available on the Nissan Murano, 370Z and X-Trail along with the Infiniti range of products. Now, thanks to Nissan's pioneering approach, this technology is being trialled for the first time on a non-automotive product in Europe, with the Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case.

The Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case has been designed using several automotive engineering innovations to deliver a more durable and long-lasting paint coat, and closely fitting, tight case. The case has three key benefits: the highly flexible and elastic properties of Scratch Shield paint technology allows fine scratches to quickly mend themselves; its tactile gel-like rather than glossy surface is more scratch-resistant than conventional paint and provides a better grip; and the case itself is made of ABS plastic - a high grade substance widely used in the automotive industry which is more rigid and robust than other plastics. The outer 'paint' is made from polyrotaxane, which means that when damage occurs to the coating in the form of a fine scratch, the chemical structure is able to react to change back to its original shape and fill the gap - 'healing' the blemish.

An initial batch of prototypes of the innovative Scratch Shield iPhone cases has been produced by Nissan for BETA testing with selected journalists and customers, but if demand proves strong, it will look to put the cases on general sale later this year.

Bob Laishley, Overseas Programme Director Business Development for Nissan in Europe, said: "We like to think laterally by taking the great innovations we've got from an automotive point of view, and looking at how they could be applied to improve everyday issues. The Scratch Shield iPhone case is a great example of us taking a Nissan automotive technology that has had a huge impact for our customers, and then shifting the boundaries to apply it to another everyday product.
-

Nissan is Testing a Self-Healing iPhone Case

Follow iClarified

cos - May 6, 2012 at 10:54pm

I bought this case in Ukraine, namely in the online store http://iphonemarket.com.ua/ and was very pleased after purchasing

Reply · Like

Notch - January 18, 2012 at 8:47pm

Whatever. Lolling forward to apple building in these inventions in the factory: gorilla glass for the screens and waterproof sealants for the internals....time to blow out the ompetition, as it is even the woz might switch.

gelatine - January 16, 2012 at 8:00pm

I never had a case that broke? Self-Healing in the sense of Scratch-Proof may be attractive, but a case should be slim, non-slip and well designed. Unique original design isn't a Japanese forté imho.

Breix - January 17, 2012 at 4:50am

Interesting.. Hope they got a GT-R type design for that thing lol

gelatine - January 17, 2012 at 7:35am

The GT-R comes close to an original design. With the latest model the designers, in my opinion, took a long hard look at Audi's R8. Looking at individual design elements, the genes of many other performance cars also stand out. /off topic off. I would lika a GT-R case too ;)

Aimee - January 16, 2012 at 5:10pm

Awesome!! Where can I purchase it?

enigma - January 16, 2012 at 7:10pm

Prototype... lol