Nanotechnology-Powered Wiper-Less Windshield

fab writes "Italian car designer Leonardo Fioravanti (who worked for Pininfarina for a number of years) has developed a car prototype without windshield wipers. This amazing technological feat is made possible thanks to the use of 4 layers of glass modified using nanotechnology. The first layer filters the sun and repels the water. The second layer, using 'nano-dust' is able to push dirt to the side. The third layer acts as a sensor that activates the second layer when it detects dirt, while the fourth layer is a conductor of electricity to power this complex mechanism. I haven't been able to find an English article, but there is always a google powered translation of the Italian article."

Comments

Ice?

[DebateG]

That's pretty cool if you live in a climate when your main problem is dirt / rain. But what about ice/sleet/freezing rain, which is the bane of my existence now that I'm living in the Midwest.

Re:Dare I ask...

[ShaunC]

Was there something terribly wrong with wipers to begin with?

They inevitably wear out, lose curvature, smear, start squeaking, cause distraction, are a pain to replace, etc. Some more quickly than others. I bought a new car in September and realized a couple days later that I'd made a mistake going car shopping on a clear sunny day. The stock wipers work in such a fashion that after each pass, a thin film is left behind, evaporating a moment later unless the wipers are going fast enough (or the water's coming down hard enough) to prevent that. Fine during the day, or during heavy rain, but I almost had a wreck the first time I drove that car at night in a drizzle. The glare from streetlights and opposing traffic diffusing through the film left behind by the wipers made it almost impossible to see.

I've been using Rain-X for years and as long as the application is fairly fresh, it's easy to drive in the rain without wipers. I have to say, if I could get a windshield with those repellent properties built in, and the effects were proven to last, I'd happily pay a premium for it.