Self-healing paint has been with us on automobiles since Nissan released its “Scratch Guard Coat” in 2005. Scratch Guard is a highly elastic resin that self-heals fine scratches and is capable of restoring the vehicle’s paint surfaces overnight or up to a week’s time in more severe cases. Now Japan’s major Telco, NTT DoCoMo, has announced it will license Scratch Shield for use on mobile phones as a value-add feature for Japanese customers.

The self-healing paint, currently applied to certain Nissan and Infiniti vehicles worldwide, was developed in collaboration with University of Tokyo and Advanced Softmaterials Inc.

Nissan’s research and development has yielded several other technologies over the years which have subsequently been licensed for various non-automotive applications, most notably its computer synethized around-view monitor and far infrared image sensor.