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Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

caranddriver.com

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Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#2
"...is supposed to be more efficient and better-looking..." Not sure how it can be better looking—all luxury cars already hide their wipers below the hood line already. Seems overly complex with many more failure points. Wipers are the one thing you don't want to fail when you need them.

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#3
Is like to see how this wears in practice. Guide rails in a road setting seem like they will get gummed up fairly quickly and degrade performance unless the entire system is somehow sealed.

It’s great to see a push for innovation beyond powertrain and head unit, though.

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#5
> Tesla was also thinking about its Autopilot system when conceptualizing the patent for the wiper system. The argument is that traditional wiper systems aren't as robust as this new electromagnetic system; time and weather can lead to corrosion, making the traditional setup less effective over time. The resulting lack of visibility could hamper Autopilot and other autonomous-driving aids that use cameras to track lanes and objects around the car. Better visibility is better for the cameras and, of course, for the driver.

That makes no sense. Autopilot cameras are not in the passenger compartment and would be unaffected by wipers.

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#6
This may be a stupid question but, is there a reason cars don't just have a single blade that goes straight across, rather than wiping in this arc motion? It seems like it'd do a much better job of wiping and avoiding streaks if it just went straight across.

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#7

> Tesla was also thinking about its Autopilot system when conceptualizing the patent for the wiper system. The argument is that traditional wiper systems aren't as robust as this new electromagnetic system; time and weather can lead to corrosion, making the traditional setup less effective over time. The resulting lack of visibility could hamper Autopilot and other autonomous-driving aids that use cameras to track la…

In a Tesla, isn't there a camera in the middle between the driver and passenger inside the passenger compartment at the very top of the windshield?

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#8

> Tesla was also thinking about its Autopilot system when conceptualizing the patent for the wiper system. The argument is that traditional wiper systems aren't as robust as this new electromagnetic system; time and weather can lead to corrosion, making the traditional setup less effective over time. The resulting lack of visibility could hamper Autopilot and other autonomous-driving aids that use cameras to track la…

[deleted]

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#9

> Tesla was also thinking about its Autopilot system when conceptualizing the patent for the wiper system. The argument is that traditional wiper systems aren't as robust as this new electromagnetic system; time and weather can lead to corrosion, making the traditional setup less effective over time. The resulting lack of visibility could hamper Autopilot and other autonomous-driving aids that use cameras to track la…

This whole article makes no sense. They really think a small improvement in windshield wiper efficiency is going to noticeably change the range of a Tesla vehicle?

Re: Tesla has applied for a patent for a new electromagnetic windshield-wiper system

#10

> Tesla was also thinking about its Autopilot system when conceptualizing the patent for the wiper system. The argument is that traditional wiper systems aren't as robust as this new electromagnetic system; time and weather can lead to corrosion, making the traditional setup less effective over time. The resulting lack of visibility could hamper Autopilot and other autonomous-driving aids that use cameras to track la…

Actually the front facing cameras are housed in the assembly behind the rear view mirror (behind the windshield) and are reliant on the wipers to clear the windshield. See the following image: https://images.app.goo.gl/WWXn1PbTaE3XWQmq7
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