If you’re single and you have a cracked phone screen, you might be in trouble: A survey from earlier this year suggests that if your glass isn’t in respectable condition, it will be tougher for you to score a second date. Fortunately, it looks like Motorola is waiting in the wings to be the ultimate wingman. While shatter-proof glass isn’t quite reality just yet, they did just apply for a patent on a phone screen that would be able to go all Wolverine and repair itself after sustaining damage (via Engadget).
The technology is possible thanks to something called “shape memory polymers,” which have a fiber optic network embedded in them that can both sense when there is damage and deliver heat to these areas. The heat allows these polymers to return to a pre-defined shape once they reach a certain temperature, and it can regain up to 96 percent of its original strength.As Engadget notes, though, a self-healing polymer screen could end up being somewhat of a compromise. For instance, the glass screens we have now would feel better to the touch, and there’s no saying quite yet what levels of damage the screen is capable of fixing. So, if you’re hoping for an end to getting your screen professionally repaired or replaced, you might have to wait a bit longer. Also, this is just a patent application, so there are perhaps no concrete plans in motion to get this type of screen in your pocket any time soon.
Would you prefer a self-repairing screen to the one you have now? Let us know what you think in the comments below!
Featured image: Robert Nelson/Flickr
