Blade for a rainy day

Traditional windscreen wiper systems haven’t changed that much over the years. In wet conditions, rubber blades affixed to wiper arms transverse the windscreen in a reciprocating manner to clear it of rain or snow.

When it is dry or dusty, the windscreen can be washed by windscreen-wiper fluid pumped from a reservoir through nozzles on the car bonnet and onto the windscreen, after which it is then wiped away by the blades.

After analysing such windscreen washing systems in some detail, it became apparent to the engineers at French automobile-parts manufacturer Valeo that they had many limitations, some of which not only inconvenienced drivers, but also compromised their safety and that of their passengers.

Existing systems unevenly distribute fluid across the windscreen, have a cleaning ability that is dependent on the speed of the vehicle and waste a lot of the washing fluid, which is sprayed in an ad hoc manner across the screen. Most importantly, however, the spray from the systems can also obstruct a driver’s visibility, a problem that becomes very noticeable in urban night-driving conditions.