Tesla obtained a patent this week for using lasers to clean debris off of its cars’ windshields, according to the original patent filing from nearly two years ago, as reported by electrek.
The laser beams would act as windshield wipers on their own, without the need for a physical cleaning arm – replacing it instead with lasers. Dr. Evil would be proud.
The pulsing lasers could also have applications for Tesla in both solar panel cleaning and roof tiles – among a wide range of other potential use cases.
In the original patent filing, Tesla wrote, “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.”
While not every patent filed ends up becoming a part of a consumer product, this particular patent seems to have generated a fair amount of buzz across the internet, and it follows a wave of other really cool Tesla patents filed recently by the company – including a motor waste heat recycling system, a tabless electrode battery cell, and its solar tonneau cover for the Cybertruck, among many others still.
