Soon, your phone’s broken screen may be able to heal(修复) itself. Scientists have developed a self-healing material that could be used on phone screens, man-made muscles, and more.

The concept isn’t exactly new. In late 2013, the LG developed a special phone — G Flex with a self-healing back which can repair scratches(划痕) and other wear and tear itself in a few minutes. The Flex’s material was non-conductive(非导电的), so it couldn’t be used on screens.

    This new material is a transparent, self-healing, highly stretchable material that can be electrically activated and can be used to improve batteries, electronic equipments and robots, according to a paper from UC Riverside.

Chao Wang, one of the authors of the paper, developed an interest in self-healing materials because of his lifelong love of Wolverine, the comic book character who has the ability to self-heal. With the ability to self-heal, the new material is perfect for electronics. The material is both low-cost and strong and can fix itself by resting for 24 hours at room temperature.

While it may have a long way to go, Wang expects to see materials like the one developed by his lab in production in as little as three years. “Within three years, more self-healing products will go to market and change our everyday life. It will make our cellphones achieve much better performance than what they can achieve right now,” Wang told Business Insider.