Sure, it looks scary. But this genius case can protect your phone forever.

Phones. For almost a century, they hung out unassumingly on our walls or desks. Sometimes, they disguised themselves as hamburgers. But now they are everywhere. Statistically speaking, you’re probably reading these very words on a phone. And chances are, you keep your phone in your pocket. But what if it falls out of your pocket? What if — heaven forbid — you drop your phone? Luckily for you, and the 67% of humanity that own a cell phone, a German inventor by the name of Phillip Frenzel has got you covered. 

For most of its life, the so-called “active damping” phone case looks like any other standard black case. But should you so much as drop it, eight springs pop out and protect against a drop by cushioning the impact of a landing. Sensors can tell when the phone is in mid-fall, and it activates in about a 10th of a second. 

It isn’t available to the public yet, but Frenzel is experiencing a huge outburst of support after gifs of the case in action went viral. 

One has to imagine how much it might hurt if it were to unlock itself close to your face. Or in your trousers, as it looks for all the world like a tiny torture device. But this patent-pending invention is as close as your phone can have to an airbag. Check out a video (in German) here: