Rain Sensing Wipers Push Science Envelope To The Max.

The everyday wiper blade style has come a long way since its initial model all the way back at the start of the century. The first wiper blade prototype didn’t even have rubber wiper blade it was manufactured from two sets of brushes, these days wiper blade science has gone from strength to strength, with progress in both the material used and in the common design. For example, the normal rubber wiper blade has long since become superfluous and will one day in my opinion be entirely superseded by the vastly superior silicone based wiper blades models.

But that’s not the only thing which has under gone a quantum jump in design with the start of flat replacement wiper blades assembled to minimise the aerodynamic drag and moving parts the world of motor car wind screens has never had it so good. But the fun doesn’t end there, now you can even buy replacement wiper blades which decide their own destiny with the developement of rain operated replacement wiper blades the driver doesn’t even have to turn on a switch any more. Things sure have come a long way since the motorist had to place his hand out of the wind screen and sweep it down himself, or since the hand crank operated design which required the driver to supply the muscle himself. Recent developements have driven the scientists to come up with rain detecting technology, which will endeavour to adjust the pace of the replacement wiper blades mechanism independently.

The initial attempts at this resulted in wind screens which endevoured to detect individual rain drops hitting the wind screen, or by utilizing a specialised paintjob which would abort water from even staying on the glass. Other techniques have even tried to adapt vibrations in order to dislodge water from the wind screen cleanly. Ultimately however none of these systems proved practical in the field and they all fell by the way side to be replaced with more practical and more commercially successful designs. The latest incarnation of this technology uses optical sensors to detect the amount of moisture which is placed easily near the rear view mirror on the inside of the car. Infrared light is projected onto the wind screen at a particular angle, if the glass is see through most of this light will be reflected back, if not the light will be reflected in all different directions triggering the wipers. The wipers are controlled by sophisticated software which can calculate how much water is on the wind screen by how much the infrared light has been dispersed. The software will then in turn activate the wipers to appropriate speed settings and voila automatic rain sensing wipers are a reality. If the user prefers to do it the old fashioned way if he is just plain old school or something he can circumvent the system and do it old fashioned way, this also comes in very handy when you’re cleaning the wind screen. This technology is currently mainly seen in the United States of America but in this reviewers prediction it wont be long be fore it makes the trip across the Atlantic and into European cars.