Tesla wants frickin' laser beams to clean your windshield

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https://www.cnet.com/google-amp/news/tesla-laser-windshield-wiper-patent/

Laser wipers? Next decade could be pretty rad.

USPTO
The windshield wiper is one of those automotive-related things that has, well, not really changed much since it was invented. A motor makes the wipers move to provide drivers with a clear view ahead. Ta-da.

Tesla often takes a different approach to things, and the electric-car innovator may be keen on replacing the humble windshield wiper with lasers. In a patent application filed this past May and published with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on Nov. 21, Tesla describes a "pulsed laser cleaning" for "debris accumulated" on glass, specifically for automotive application. It also mentions this could be used for "photo-voltaic" applications. That's fancy-speak for solar panels.

If the Cybertruck was the future car the past promised but never delivered, laser wipers may be the icing on the cake. According to the patent, Tesla imagines the system would work with a beam optics assembly to produce a laser that hunts down debris. A detection circuitry would be responsible for telling the system where to fire and remove dirt, grime and droppings


This same system would also take into account the laser's exposure level with pulses to ensure it didn't cut through the glass or harm occupants inside. Specifically, a calibration would "limit penetration of the laser beam to a depth that is less than a thickness of the glass article."

Such a system could do without chemicals and sprayers to take care of cleaning the windshield. Ditto for camera lenses and solar panels installed on a vehicle or structure. This system is also described to be smart enough to determine things that don't need neutralizing. We're talking about laser wipers; I can totally use the word "neutralizing."

The patent goes on to state that a system scan would be intelligent enough to recognize objects that don't need require laser cleaning. Things like a logo or sticker applied to the window are examples. Further, items like clothing or a sun visor flipped down wouldn't confuse the system, either, the patent attests.

As with a patent from any company, take it with a grain of salt. These documents are never indication that something is production bound. This is doubly true for this patent since this kind of technology is so new. But, it does perhaps show where Tesla engineers have their minds. Tesla didn't respond to a request for comment on the patent application.

 

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Tesla's crazy laser windshield wipers have been published by the US Patent Office

Tesla’s idea for a crazy windshield wiper that would clear debris from a driver’s line of sight using a laser beam has been officially published by the United States Patent Office. Tesla filed the application for the patent in May 2019, and it finally was granted in late 2021. Now, the U.S...

www.teslarati.com

Tesla’s crazy laser windshield wipers have been published by the US Patent Office​

Tesla’s idea for a crazy windshield wiper that would clear debris from a driver’s line of sight using a laser beam has been officially published by the United States Patent Office. Tesla filed the application for the patent in May 2019, and it finally was granted in late 2021. Now, the U.S. Patent Office has published the patent, making it publicly viewable.

Tesla has long been interested in some pretty crazy and revolutionary ideas for automobiles. Over the years, Tesla has looked at several different designs and ideas for windshield wipers, using anything from a single-wiper system for the Next-Gen Roadster that would utilize an electromagnetic linear actuator to rid the windshield of moisture, to no wipers at all when it unveiled the Cybertruck in November 2019. Most recent sightings of Tesla’s Cybertruck have indicated the vehicle will have wipers, but Tesla is still revising the design.

With all of the crazy ideas Tesla has thrown around for wipers in the past, the patent for the automaker’s “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” is among the most interesting. Originally filed in May 2019, Tesla recently had the idea published by the U.S. Patent Office, meaning if the Office does not ultimately grant the patent, the public can still learn from the work and perhaps develop another system that could be granted.

Tesla describes the patent in the now-published filing:

A cleaning system for a vehicle includes a beam optics assembly that emits a laser beam to irradiate a region on a glass article of the vehicle, debris detection circuitry that detects debris accumulated over the region, and control circuitry. The control circuitry calibrates a set of parameters associated with the laser beam emitted from the beam optics assembly based on detection of the debris accumulated over the region on the glass article, controls an exposure level of the laser beam on the debris accumulated based on calibration of the set of parameters associated with the laser beam, wherein the exposure level is controlled based on pulsing the laser beam at a calibrated rate that limits penetration of the laser beam to a depth that is less than a thickness of the glass article and removes the debris accumulated over the region on the glass article using the laser beam.”

It is not necessarily confirmed or known what plans Tesla may have for the laser windshield wipers, but illustrations within the patent do seem to display a Model S body. Tesla may be willing to test this type of apparatus on some of its vehicles in-house, but the automaker has never detailed specific plans for the idea.

Tesla’s flowchart describing the process for the patent is relatively simple, and also shows uses with clearing debris from solar panels. In five steps, the patent describes the use of the laser cleaning assembly:

1. Detect debris accumulated on a region on glass article installed in vehicle
2. Calibrate a set of parameters associated with laser beam emitted from beam optics assembly, based on detection of debris accumulated on a region on glass article
3. Control exposure level of laser beam on detected debris accumulated on glass article based on calibration of set of parameters associated with laser beam
4. Irradiate region associated with the detected debris on glass article by laser beam
5. Remove detected debris accumulated on region by laser beam

It doesn’t appear to be operated by the vehicle itself, either. Tesla describes the potential for a manual system where the driver could control the laser with a touchscreen, joystick, or another medium to communicate with different operational components of the cleaning apparatus.

While it seems like an outlandish and potentially satirical idea, it would not be too far past Tesla’s realm of ideas to use a laser to clear a windshield. After all, CEO Elon Musk has said in the past that the Roadster will fly thanks to SpaceX cold gas thrusters, Tesla has filed a patent for the Cybertruck to have solar cells on its tonneau for additional electric vehicle range, and plenty of other insane ideas. However, the new laser patent, if ultimately used by Tesla, would only decrease the already-minimal maintenance costs owners deal with, as yearly keep-up costs on EVs are extremely low.