Instead of replacing your cracked screen, Motorola wants to regenerate it on the spot.
Cracked screens are the bane of just about any phone owner. Even with the best cases and screen protectors at the ready, shattering your phone with just one unfortunate drop seems like it’s always a possibility.
Replacing a broken screen is often the only to go after a nasty fall (if not also costly) but Motorola seems to be working on a more sci-fi alternative: regenerating your cracked screen right on the spot.
The company behind the nostalgic Razr phone and more contemporary Moto Z family of handsets published a patent last week for a method of using heat to reform a damaged screen, essentially ‘healing’ the crack in the process. Razr Moto Z
Image Credit: United States Patent and Trademark Office
(Image: © United States Patent and Trademark Office)
Originally filed in February of last year, the patent describes using a «shape memory polymer» that regains its form after being subjected to «thermal elements, » which can include the phone heating itself up, applying a hair dryer, using body heat or even leaving the damaged phone out in the sun.
While this could be a dream come true for clumsier phone owners, Motorola’s patented method seemingly only heals (or partially heals) smaller cracks and scratches, making it far from a magic bullet for those bigger spills that can take out entire pieces of your screen.
Additionally, and should be stated as always, patents like Motorola’s are only proof-of-concept. This means it could still be long while before we see this self-healing technology in action, if at all.
There’s also no saying how good-looking (or cost-effective) a regenerating screen would turn out, so for now we just suggest taking extra caution and investing in a good phone case with that precious handset of yours.
Via The Verge The Verge Our review of Motorola’s shatterproof Moto Z2 Force. Moto Z2 Force
