techbeck Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 McLaren, the British company famous for its supercars and its involvement with Formula One racing, is focusing on fine-tuning the details: windshield wipers, to be exact. The company is reportedly working on a windshield wiper system that would make physical wipers obsolete. The system is expected to use high-frequency sound waves, similar to ultrasounds used by doctors to scan unborn babies, to create tiny vibrations on the screen that would bounce off rain, debris, and insects. Not only does this improve visibility, but it also eliminates the windshield wiper motor in traditional cars and cuts fuel costs. McLaren would be the first to bring this kind of technology to consumer cars, but the system isn't totally new. Military vehicles like fighter jets have similar windshield wiping technology built in, and as McLaren chief designer Frank Stephenson told The Sunday Times, it's an "electronic system that never fails" and leaves nothing attached to the windshield. Unfortunately, the McLaren range of sports cars set to feature the system probably won't debut before 2015. So for now we're stuck battling with our creaky windshield wipers, but in the future, cleaning the snow and ice off your windshield could be a completely automated ? and easy ? hands-off task. http://www.theverge.com/2013/12/17/5220842/mclaren-windshield-wiper-technology Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Guessing this would work great in cold countries with instant icing on the windows on certain days or thick snow.... No, it won't... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife Party Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 well, good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Rev Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Want. :-p Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleNeutrino Veteran Posted December 17, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 17, 2013 it also wont do you any good if the car is off when say a bird poops on it or anything like that. thomastmc 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TruckWEB Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Guessing this would work great in cold countries with instant icing on the windows on certain days or thick snow.... No, it won't... I don't think you're going to drive a McLaren on icy roads or snow.... Squirrelington 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra.Xtreme Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 It might clear beads of rain, but it won't clear dirt or everything else that isn't clear. The only solution I can think of that would obsolete wipers would be to coat the windshield with something similar to Never Wet (http://www.neverwet.com/). rohanson and Soldiers33 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soldiers33 Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 so it will save fuel from wiping yet somehow using super sonic sound waves would be cheaper :S Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XerXis Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Guessing this would work great in cold countries with instant icing on the windows on certain days or thick snow.... No, it won't... If it works on fighter jets it will work in cold countries ;) thomastmc and +Mirumir 2 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Neo Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 Guessing this would work great in cold countries with instant icing on the windows on certain days or thick snow.... No, it won't... Ah here we have HawkMan who always knows everything better than the rest of the world. Such a relief you're still here to show mankind the way. We'd all be lost without you. :ike: f0rk_b0mb, benthebear, Blackhearted and 5 others 8 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted December 17, 2013 Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 I'm no expert in high frequency sound waves (believe it or not) but i'm not sure how this would work for dried on bird sh*t? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D. S. Veteran Posted December 17, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 17, 2013 I'm no expert in high frequency sound waves (believe it or not) but i'm not sure how this would work for dried on bird sh*t? McLaren will incorporate a Peregrine Falcon in a side compartment to watch over each car and stop birds from pooping on it. That's what I would require in order to justify their asking price. thomastmc, benthebear, Luc2k and 1 other 4 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeChipshop Member Posted December 17, 2013 Member Share Posted December 17, 2013 McLaren will incorporate a Peregrine Falcon in side compartment to watch over each car and stop birds from pooping on it. That's what I would require in order to justify their asking price. Thank god for that. I'll take two! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knife Party Posted December 17, 2013 Share Posted December 17, 2013 McLaren will incorporate a Peregrine Falcon in a side compartment to watch over each car and stop birds from pooping on it. That's what I would require in order to justify their asking price. :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 If it works on fighter jets it will work in cold countries ;) Fighter jets are parked in small hangars, wiped down before flight if there's snow on the canopy, and then they fly to fast for snow or under frozen rain to stick to the canopy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I don't think you're going to drive a McLaren on icy roads or snow.... People actually do drive them all year, not in the heaviest snow, but you never know when it's going to snow in the fall even though the roads are clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Ah here we have HawkMan who always knows everything better than the rest of the world. Such a relief you're still here to show mankind the way. We'd all be lost without you. :ike: Was that all you had to "contribute"? Throwing insults and trolling ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raa Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I want this! Why hasn't this been a thing before now? :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torolol Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 would this provokes nearby dogs when i activates the ultrasonic-viber-wiper? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Growled Member Posted December 18, 2013 Member Share Posted December 18, 2013 It's about time they came out with something like this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firey Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 I don't see how this would work to get salt residue off the windows.. even my windshield wipers can't always get it off. Gotta spray it with wiper fluid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.Neo Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 Was that all you had to "contribute"? Throwing insults and trolling ? Not at all. Just extending my gratitude towards you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sc302 Veteran Posted December 18, 2013 Veteran Share Posted December 18, 2013 Fighter jets are parked in small hangars, wiped down before flight if there's snow on the canopy, and then they fly to fast for snow or under frozen rain to stick to the canopy. Many fighters use jet bleed to remove ice. It isn't that they fly too fast...they are very prone to icing due to the sub zero climate they are often in. A similar system is used for wing de-icing by the 'hot-wing' method. In icing conditions, water droplets condensing on a wing's leading edge can freeze. This build-up of ice adds weight and changes the shape of the wing, causing a degradation in performance, and possibly a critical loss of control or lift. To prevent this, warm bleed air is pumped through the inside of the wing's leading edge. This heats up the metal and prevents the formation of ice. The air then exits through small holes in the wing edge. Alternatively, bleed air may be used to inflate a rubber boot on the leading edge, breaking the ice loose.[2][3] Bleed air from the high-pressure compressor of the engine is used to supply reaction control valves as used for part of the flight control system in the Harrier jump jet family of military aircraft Also, this covers military and commercial jets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_protection_system Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AJerman Posted December 18, 2013 Share Posted December 18, 2013 It might clear beads of rain, but it won't clear dirt or everything else that isn't clear. The only solution I can think of that would obsolete wipers would be to coat the windshield with something similar to Never Wet (http://www.neverwet.com/). Like Rain X? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HawkMan Posted December 19, 2013 Share Posted December 19, 2013 Many fighters use jet bleed to remove ice. It isn't that they fly too fast...they are very prone to icing due to the sub zero climate they are often in. Also, this covers military and commercial jets: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ice_protection_system I was talking about the canopy though. The canopy doesn't suffer from the same icing issues as the leading edge of the wing. And the speed referred mostly to the snow as well though generally they're ton high for snow as well, most of the time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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