Nissan has announced a new ‘self-healing' iPhone case that employs paint technology first designed for use on cars to automatically fix scratches and scrapes.

Even cooler than this coating that prevents water damage, the Scratch Shield case can heal abrasions to its surface in anything from a few hours to a week, depending on the extent of the damage.

According to a release from Nissan, "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.

"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... if demand proves strong, it will look to put the cases on general sale later this year.

There's no indication what the cases will cost yet, but if they work it seems a safe bet demand will prove strong.

The question is, what else could the technology apply to? Self-healing sunglasses? Scratch-proof jewellery?