Tesla nabs patent to use laser beams as windshield wipers

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Elon Musk has long warned of the dangers of artificial intelligence and other technological advances that could cause trouble for humankind, so it only makes sense that Tesla has obtained a patent to use laser beams as windshield wipers on its vehicles.

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Yes, the electric vehicle producer has been granted a patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office for a concept titled “Pulsed laser cleaning of debris accumulated on glass articles in vehicles and photovoltaic assemblies,” reads news uncovered by Electrek .

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Tesla nabs patent to use laser beams as windshield wipers Back to video

Based in imagery provided in the patent, it would appear Tesla is looking to anchor the laser beams to the hood facing the windshield. The application goes on to explain that the beams are designed to “irradiate a region on a glass article that is installed in the vehicle” without piercing the target material and potentially causing damage to the car or its passengers. The futuristic car detailer would also come with cameras to detect when the vehicle needed a touch-up.

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Electrek first reported Tesla’s interest in laser cleaning technology almost two years ago, when the patent was initially filed.

“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,” Tesla described in the patent application.

“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.”