A team of European scientists at SINTEF has made the first step towards self-repairing rain wear. They thought of weaving microcapsules filled with liquid polyurethane into raincoats that if scratched, will leak out the repairing glue that will mend the wear. This breakthrough was intended to meet the demanding work lives of professional fishermen but has plenty of other applications, such as extending the life of plastic anti-corrosive coating around metal structures.
Unfortunately at their current stage, the microcapsules could only repair cuts that are around a millimeter long. The team is currently attempting to expand their effectiveness by experimenting with different mixtures.
Only time will tell when we will be able to have this technology in our raincoats.
Source: Alpha Galileo