Smartphone accidents often lead to an annoying problem: shattered displays that are costly to replace. However, it looks like one scientist thinks there’s a solution to preventing such accidents from happening again in the future. Android Police reports that Dr. Yu Zhu from the University of Akron has found a new material that might allow gadget makers to build more durable smartphone displays.

Current screens have an indium tin oxide (ITO) coating on top, a “completely transparent substance that’s also electrically conductive.” Zhu has replaced the ITO coating with a transparent electron mesh that’s placed in between layers of polymer. The new technology can better sustain shocks, and could help smartphone makers create shatterproof displays in the future.

The new display technology survived repeated scotch tape peeling and bending tests. Furthermore, the displays seem to work even after having been bent 1,000 times.

According to Zhu, the new film provides the same degree of transparency as ITO films, and offers greater conductivity. Furthermore, because it’s flexible, the transparent electrode can be mass-produced in “economical, mass-quantity rolls.”

”We expect this film to emerge on the market as a true ITO competitor,” Zhu said. ”The annoying problem of cracked smartphone screens may be solved once and for all with this flexible touchscreen.”

The full research paper describing this revolutionary technology that could shape the future of smartphones is available by following the source links below.