A German university student has created a solution for people who always drop and break their smartphones: an airbag in the form of an iPhone case.
Created by Philip Frenzel, a student from Aalen University in Germany, the device has a set of springs that pop out when it detects the iPhone is falling, giving it a soft landing when it hits the ground, preventing the screen from breaking. Once you pick it up, you can retract the springs so they’re ready for your phone’s next big fall.
He calls the device the “AD Case,” short for “active damping.” Tech news site Gizmodo notes that while the case design works well on flat surfaces, you might run into trouble dropping your phone on rocky or uneven terrain where obstacles are larger than the size of the springs.
The case isn’t being sold commercially, but Frenzel has patented the technology. And it’s already winning awards. He recently won the top award at German Society for Mechatronics’ for the invention. No word on when or if we’ll be able to buy one of our own.