McLaren doing away with windscreen wiper blades
It would appear that McLaren is planning to do away with the need for windscreen wiper blades, or so some report would have us believe. The British supercar maker is in the midst of developing a system based on the use of sound waves.
According to UK media report the company is designing a system adapted from fighter jets meant to replace the current windscreen wiper technology which has more than one century under its belt.
This technology is thought to rely on high-frequency sound waves which would create basically a force field capable of repelling water, insects, mud and other debris.
Besides claiming improvements in visibility and aerodynamics, the company also says that their technology will result in better fuel economy thanks to the weight reduction associated with the elimination of wiper motors. The wiper bladeless system would also make the blades freezing to glass during the cold seasons a thing of the past.
Might sound a bit science-fiction but the technology has been in use in jet planes for many years and it appears to be nearing production-ready form for the road as well. it is thought that this new windscreen technology could make its debut in the upcoming P13 supercar programmed for a 2015 launch.
Frank Stephenson – McLaren Automotive design director – said that it took a lot of effort to get the technology out of the military; he claims that the technology is ‘very cost effective’ and that nothing will attach to the cars’ windscreens.
The basic idea of the windscreen wiper that we still use today was invented by a property developer from Alabama in 1903 and according to Stephenson it has been one of the last design bastions to overcome. More than a hundred years since they’ve been a part of each and every car on the roads today, it has come time for someone to do away with them.
