Currently, everyone who can afford a smartphone has one. And why shouldn’t they? It has so many facilities, like internet browsing, taking high-def pictures, listening to music, playing games and most importantly, sending and receiving calls. It’s like having the world in the palm of our hands.
However, these smartphones aren’t as sturdy as the old feature phones. And as we use it so frequently, no matter which brand of screen-protector we’ve slapped on it, there’s a 99% chance of dropping and breaking it. But worry not, because a German student has a solution.
According to PetaPixel, a 25-year-old student from Germany has invented a ‘mobile airbag’ that’ll protect smartphones from damage.
The mechatronics engineering student who you should be thanking is Phillip Frenzel. He came up with the idea when he broke his phone in an unfortunate accident. And since Frenzel was not fond of bulky protective cases, he spent four years making a system that prevents dropped phones from harm.
Here’s how it works. Every smartphone has an in-built accelerometer in it. Frenzel has connected it with retractable metal springs that’s attached to the back of the phone. Therefore, when the sensors detect that the phone’s in free-fall, the springs deploy to protect its screen and inner components. Then you can simply pick it up, thank Frenzel and put back the springs in its original position. Genius!
Here’s a demonstration of the ‘mobile airbag’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mLoEcgAaRpI
People who’ve a habit of dropping their phones were excited to see this and are ready to buy it asap!
1. My money as well.
Students designs a “mobile airbag” for your phone when it’s dropped.
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY pic.twitter.com/WVmfzqR5lz
— ALAMO TRAP HOUSE ❁ (@citizenhush) June 27, 2018
2. Ah! That’s the risk you’ve to take.
what if this drops from my hand on my face at night bc it happens to all of us 😅
— 🌊☀️🌿 (@yoops3) June 28, 2018
3. Didn’t see that coming.
When your consumers out engineer your product engineers =P nice work
— 混沌狐 (@Tibsfox) June 27, 2018
4. Always.
Smart people are the best.
— bobbyrutz (@bobbyrutz) June 27, 2018
5. Soon, my friend. Soon.
How soon do you start shipment? pic.twitter.com/iOWNNoyogO
— Arinze bike (@arinzebike) June 28, 2018
Frenzel has already been awarded the national Mechatronics Prize for 2018 by the German Mechatronics Society. Since then, he has registered for a patent so that he can commercially make this nifty product that he calls the AD case (the AD stands for active damping). And since our ability to drop our phones is going to improve exponentially, I hope Frenzel starts producing it right now!