Tesla’s laser windshield patent gets published

The United States Patent Office published Tesla’s patent for laser windshield wipers.

Tesla applied for the patent back in May 2019, and the US Patent Office approved the patent in late 2021.

Earlier this week, the patent office published the full patent, making it publicly viewable.

The patent application describes how Tesla’s laser wipers would work in a five-step process:

1. Detect debris accumulated on a region on glass article installed in vehicle
2. Calibrate a set of parameters associated with laser beam emitted from beam optics assembly, based on detection of debris accumulated on a region on glass article
3. Control exposure level of laser beam on detected debris accumulated on glass article based on calibration of set of parameters associated with laser beam
4. Irradiate region associated with the detected debris on glass article by laser beam
5. Remove detected debris accumulated on region by laser beam

The five-step process seems simple enough, but the system would not be operated by the vehicle itself.

Instead, Tesla imagines that the driver can operate it manually with a joystick or the touch screen of the car.

So, the question is, would you want to use laser windshield wipers or are would you prefer to stick to the traditional set you have on your car now?

You can read the full patent below.