Tesla’s Electric Vehicles Could Soon Use Lasers to Clean Windscreens

Tesla Inc. has been granted a patent for its laser system that will be used to clean vehicle windscreens and other glass surfaces. Filed in 2019, the patent to the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) titled “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” depicts a laser cleaning system for the vehicle’s windscreen. More than two years later, on September 7, 2021, it finally received approval from the USPTO.

Per the patent filing, the inventor is Phiroze Dalal, who, according to his publicly available LinkedIn profile, is a four-year veteran of Tesla and currently holds the title of “Senior Staff Scientific and Industrial Imaging Specialist”. Dalal’s extensive work experience with imaging, high-speed cameras, and crash-test photo-instrumentation helps explain how he came up with this idea. Furthermore, we think we know why Tesla’s interested in it.

“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 design is currently designated to clear debris on the windscreen without damaging the surface and could be adapted to clear debris off solar panels and tiles. There is no suggestion of the system being used for rain, but it is likely to be used in conjunction with a windscreen wiper system — which Tesla is currently reinventing.

The electric vehicle company also acquired a patent for an electromagnetically guided windscreen wiping system. It is important to note that companies regularly apply for patents on their ideas, with many of the technologies never ending up on final products. According to Nikkei Asia, Tesla has been granted more than 580 patents since its founding in 2003.

As the abstract states, the laser’s output would be controlled so that it doesn’t penetrate the vehicle’s glass, and its only purpose would be to remove accumulated debris. Still, how would you feel about having a laser powerful enough to remove bird droppings and spattered bug guts, aimed almost directly at both you and your front passenger’s head?