Gorilla Glass, which is used in the displays of mobile devices such as the iPhone, is pretty tough stuff. That said, it still isn't that uncommon to see iPhones with cracked screens. Such carnage may become a less common sight, however, if Rhino Shield takes off. The clear coating, which is designed to applied over top of a device's existing screen, is said to be five times more impact-resistant than Gorilla Glass 2.
The result of a successful Kickstarter campaign, Rhino Shield is the product of Cambridge University spin-off company Evolutive Labs. It's made from an impact-dispersing "custom-formulated polymer" that is also highly transparent (it has a transmission rate of over 95 percent), scratch-resistant, and that features an oleophobic coating – that means it repels fingerprints and other oils.
One multi-layer sheet is 0.29 mm thick, and can reportedly be applied to a phone's screen without creating air bubbles or leaving sticky residue. The screen's touchscreen functionality remains intact.
Rhino Shield prices range from £17.99 (US$29) for a smartphone-sized sheet (users can select the proper make/model when ordering) to £25.00 ($40) for a sheet that fits a tablet.
The material can be seen getting subjected to an impact test in the video below.
