While the microcapsule coatings will be the first self-healing product to make it to market, scientists are also working on developing more complex models.

CNN: The emerging world of self-healing materials

When an electric field is applied to a microcapsule, the pigment particles within it move, turning one side of the capsule white and the other black.

ECONOMIST: REPORTS

Its chief executive, Joe Giuliani, told me the first applications of microcapsule systems are likely to be in coatings, paints and adhesives for environments where corrosion poses a challenge.

BBC: Time to heal: The materials that repair themselves