Back

Don’t wipe your windshield... zap it!

If you watched the Cybertruck launch video in our last newsletter, you may have noticed that the futuristic electric pick-up has no windshield wipers. No surprise then to learn that Tesla has filed a patent for cleaning windshields with lasers.

According to the patent, a beam optics assembly produces a laser that hunts down debris. Detection circuitry would tell the system where to fire the beam in order to remove dirt, grime and insects. Safety aspects would be controlled by managing laser exposure levels through pulsing it and ensuring that it doesn’t pass through the glass or harm vehicle occupants.

The patent goes on to claim that the system scan would be intelligent enough to recognise objects that don’t need to be zapped, such as a sticker on the glass or your sun visor flipped down. The full patent can be seen here.