You’d assume it will be all palms on deck at Tesla with researchers, engineers, and software program builders all working collectively to rectify the automobile maker’s problematic Autopilot characteristic, however as a substitute, the corporate is devoting sources to different futuristic options: like laser windshield wipers.

We’ll be the primary to confess that the present technique of cleansing a car’s windshield whereas driving is much from excellent. Assuming the wiper blades themselves aren’t lined in grime and also you didn’t overlook to refill the wiper fluid, they have an inclination to smear filth and different particles throughout the windshield as a substitute of successfully wiping it away. Windshield wipers would possibly do a satisfactory job at stopping raindrops from occluding a driver’s view of the street forward, however they’re a expertise that’s undoubtedly due for an improve, and if Tesla has something to say about it, in the future they is likely to be changed by lasers.

As automobiles develop into smarter and extra reliant on applied sciences like cameras, sensors, and even energy-generating photovoltaic panels whose efficiency is hindered by a build-up of filth, there’s much more demand for a technique to hold numerous surfaces of a car clear that doesn’t contain a each day journey via a automobile wash.

Originally filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on May 10, 2019, however lastly permitted earlier this week, Tesla’s patent for a “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” sounds as foreboding because it does modern. The patent describes a system the place “debris detection circuitry” can decide if filth has constructed up on glass surfaces that have to be stored as clear as attainable for optimum performance, like cameras monitoring the street, and even the windshield {that a} driver is trying via. Based on how a lot filth is detected and the place it’s situated, a laser’s depth and focus are calibrated to direct the beam particularly to the issue space (think about a patch of chicken poop in your windshield) in order that because it’s rapidly pulsed it has sufficient depth to burn the filth away, with out truly penetrating the glass floor and inflicting hurt to occupants inside, or delicate electronics.

On one hand, the strategy eliminates sophisticated mechanical equipment that’s liable to failure in addition to an extra electrical motor placing a heavy pressure on an EV’s battery. It additionally removes the wiper blades shifting backwards and forwards throughout the windshield which might typically be a distraction for a driver. On the opposite hand, a laser highly effective sufficient to burn filth off a window is certainly one thing to be involved about. You’re not even alleged to look instantly on the low-power laser diodes utilized in laser pointers, however the beam’s depth must be elevated dramatically for this software.

The patent does describe an strategy the place the laser’s beam is rapidly pulsed in order that it “limits penetration of the laser beam to a depth that is less than a thickness of the glass article” and whereas that may present some peace of thoughts for the car’s occupants, what about others across the car, together with different drivers on the street, who is likely to be uncovered to undesirable reflections of the beam? In a perfect world that might by no means occur, however in a perfect world self-driven Teslas additionally wouldn’t crash into police cruisers. The self-cleaning laser system may very well be restricted to make use of solely when the car is safely stopped, or inside a storage even, however then it will be ineffective for the random instances that one thing splatters throughout your windshield when you’re on the street. As futuristic as the thought sounds, we’re fairly blissful to stay with our old-school answer in the interim.