(Tesla Inc.)
Tesla has patented a method for cleaning car windows and solar panels on rooftops using laser beams.
The authors propose to select the parameters of laser pulses so that they don’t penetrate the glass layer and pose danger to passengers and electronics.
In automobiles, glass cleaning is often used not only for the windshield and rear window, but also for other surfaces such as headlights or sensors in self-driving cars.
When brushes are used, there is almost always a dead zone on the surface that the brush cannot reach.
It can also adhere unevenly to the surface and not cope with some types of substances, leaving the driver or sensors with dirty glass.
In 2019, Tesla proposed using lasers to clean glass surfaces, and has now received a patent for this method.
In the document, the engineers focused mainly on applying such cleaning to cars, but noted that it could potentially be used with other surfaces: solar panels, skyscraper facades and others.
For the operation, the authors propose to install laser emitters in different parts of the car body, as well as tools for detecting dirt, water and other interference.
Having detected contamination and localized it, the system instructs the emitters to create pulses that evaporate excess material on the glass, including water, dirt and bird droppings.
Engineers propose to use a pulsed laser mode and tune it so that it does not penetrate the entire depth of the glass.
They also suggest applying reflective or absorbing coatings such as indium tin oxide to glass.
Unlike existing machines, the authors of the patent propose to clean almost all glass surfaces of the car in this way, including side windows, cameras and even turn signals.
Source:
As much as this is fascinating (and it is), it's useful to know Tesla holds a high number of patents (source: https://insights.greyb.com/tesla-patents/) and not all of them translate to real-world application.
That said, it's an interesting prospect because LASERS ARE COOL.
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My bet is that Elon is thinking of Mars. That kind of technology would be very useful in Mars (and the Moon) where the extremely corrosive dust will be a major problem.
Still speculative, tho.
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