Stratoscopeon Hacker News • Recommends
On “Tesla Auto Wipers: Why They Don't Work and Why There Isn't an Easy Fix”
For anyone curious, Technology Connections has a good video on how traditional automobile rain sensors work: link to this video
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#rainsensor#totalinternalreflection#infrared
The simple, clever sensor behind automatic windshield wipers
Technology Connections
3.2M subscribers • 19 videos on Hallway
- Recommended by 2 people: 2 on Hacker News.
- Presented by Alec Watson, Technology Connections
Beginner. No background in the topic needed.
1.7M views2 years ago2 recommendations
HardwareElectronicsEmbedded systems
Alec Watson explains the physics and electronics behind traditional automatic windshield wiper rain sensors using total internal reflection.
When it's wet it wipes. Links 'n' stuff: The video I just did on stovetops: youtu.be/ff04ecF9Dfw Technology Connections on Mastodon: mas.to/@TechConnectify Technology Connections on Bluesky: bsky.app/profile/techconnectify.bsky.social This channel is supported through viewer contributions on Patreon. Thanks to the generous support of people like you, Technology Connections has remained independent and possible. If you'd like to join the amazing people who've pledged their support, check out the link below. Thank you for your consideration! patreon.com/technologyconnectionsWhy it's here
2 people recommend thisWhat people say. Highly recommended for explaining the simple, reliable infrared sensor technology that Tesla replaced with less reliable camera-based vision systems.
tzson Hacker News • Recommends
On “Tesla is committing automotive suicide”
> The parking sensors basically don't work at all due to being vision only - and apparently can't be made to work properly What's stupid about this is that it is hard to come up with a good reason for it. The no LIDAR thing is at least understandable because at the time LIDAR was very expensive. Ultrasonic parking sensors are cheap. Same for automatic windshield wipers, which have been a significant source of complaints from Tesla owners. Pretty much everyone else uses a dedicated sensor that is simple and inexpensive and works well. Technology Connections has a good video on how it works 1. Tesla uses vision. 1 link to this video
tzson Hacker News • Mentions
On “Tesla Full Self Driving requires human intervention every 13 miles”
I'm baffled by Tesla's approach to this. There are two ways cars currently do automatic wipers. One way uses a very clever, simple, cheap but very effective sensor. Technology Connections did an episode 1 a few months ago on these sensors. The electronics in it are just a couple infrared LEDs and infrared photodiodes. The other way is to use a camera, such as the camera you already have for your driver assist functions, and try to use computer vision software to figure out how much rain there is. Pretty much everyone except Tesla uses the first way. Tesla uses the second way. What baffles me is that of the three options they might have pursued: 1. Use a rain sensor like the ones everyone e…
gcanyonon Hacker News • Mentions
On “Tesla changes meaning of 'Full Self-Driving', gives up on promise of autonomy”
The wiper system has nothing to do with self-driving -- it's based on total internal reflection in the glass: link to this video