We’ve featured many iPhone cases on the site before, but Nissan’s new protective case is certainly unique. The Nissan Scratch Shield features the brand’s self-healing paint finish, developed in 2005 and already used on a number of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles.

Developed by Nissan in collaboration with University of Tokyo and Advanced Softmaterials Inc, the unique paint finish was initially designed for automotive use, but is now being trialed for the first time on a non-automotive product in Europe, with the Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case.

The outer ‘paint’ is made from polyrotaxane. When the case sustains damage, such as being scratched, the chemical structure reacts by changing back to its original shape and filling the gap – 'healing' the blemish.

Nissan’s 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.

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 consider making the cases available for general sale later this year.

 

The automobile manufacturer has joined forces with Ministry of Sound, which will be hosting a pre-race party for Nissan with internationally renowned DJ Pete Tong, to release the first 100 of the Nissan Scratch Shield iPhone case prototypes.

Nissan has been licensing its unique technologies for various non-automotive applications since 2004. Other technologies that have been licensed include its Miniature Thermal Imaging Sensor. This was initially designed to make driving at night safer by detecting the presence of people even in places not illuminated by the car’s headlights. The technology has been licensed to create a device which allows customers to monitor heat generation, or collect temperature readings via infrared sensor.