London: The humble windshield wiper may soon become a thing of the past - thanks to a new system that creates vibrations to shake off water or any debris from the car windscreen.
The McLaren Group, Britain's most advanced automobile company and a leading designer of Formula 1 supercars, is planning to dispose of the windscreen wiper with new technology adapted from fighter jets.
The new system will use high-frequency sound waves similar to those used by dentists for removing plaque from teeth and by doctors for scanning unborn babies. By in effect creating a force field, water, insects, mud and other debris will be repelled from the screen.
As well as improving visibility, McLaren said it could improve cars' fuel economy by eliminating the weight of wiper motors and streamlining the windscreen, The Times reported.
It would also prevent the problem in cold weather of wiper blades freezing to the glass. The system is expected to be introduced in McLaren cars, but is unlikely to be ready before 2015.
While McLaren is reluctant to release details about its wiper-free windscreen, experts suggest that it may make use of ultrasound, waves outside the human hearing range, to create tiny vibrations on the windscreen.
