Tesla has updated its application to patent a “Pulsed Laser Cleaning of Debris Accumulated on Glass Articles in Vehicles and Photovoltaic Assemblies” system that it first filed in 2021.
The cleaning apparatus includes debris-detection circuitry, a laser emitter, a beam-optics assembly, and control circuitry. It identifies accumulation on glass articles using onboard cameras, capacitive or resistive transparent layers on the glass and frustrated total internal reflection. It locates debris, measures its area and shape, and classifies type by composition, texture, color, state, or spectral properties.
Examples of target debris include dirt, mud, bird droppings, insect residue, snow, water droplets, oil, and sap. The system distinguishes these from permanent items such as stickers or logos.
Once debris is mapped, control circuitry calibrates the laser’s wavelength, frequency, peak power, pulse duration, number of pulses, spot radius, focal length, and angle of incidence. Optical fibers, galvanometric mirrors, micromirror arrays and lenses steer and focus the beam onto the contaminated region.
Multiple beam-optics assemblies can serve different surfaces from a single source via splitters or dedicated fibers. Exposure is limited so the pulsed beam penetrates less than the thickness of the glass, reducing risk to components behind windshields, camera sensors, or lighting. A laser-barrier coating such as indium tin oxide can be applied to absorb or reflect residual energy.
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The patent says that the system can be used for vehicles, stationary solar arrays or architectural glass and can be used alongside conventional wipers, which underscores that it is not designed to work on heavy rain. The primary purpose is supporting autonomous driving systems, which rely on cameras for a clear view. By using lasers instead of liquid cleansers that need to be cleared away and dried, it can act faster on obstructions that might limit sensor performance.
The system is not present on the current version of the fully autonomous Cybercab that is now being used as in Tesla’s Robotaxi fleet in Austin, Texas, and the company has not said if or when it might be implemented.
