Apple granted patent for windows in a self-driving Apple Car

I’m 99% certain that the first version of the Apple Car won’t be self-driving when (if?) it arrives. However, I think we’ll see such a vehicle somewhere down the road.

And Apple is investigating technologies for such an automobile. The company has been granted a patent (number US 11851030 B2) for that involve windows in a self-driving car.

About the patent

In the patent Apple notes that motorized vehicles that are capable of sensing their environment and navigating to destinations with little or no ongoing input from occupants, and may therefore be referred to as “autonomous” or “self-driving” vehicles, are an increasing focus of research and development. However, the tech giant says that such vehicles typically include windows that interfere with the extent to which they are capable of sensing accurate representations of their environment. If, for instance, they’re dirty.

Apple’s patent relates generally to systems, apparatus, and techniques for sensing defects associated with a window and for performing image processing based at least partly on the sensed defects. The car would then perform image processing to produce a corrected image of a scene based at least partly on data corresponding to the detected defects.

Seems to be that making the windows self-cleaning would be a simpler solution, but, hey, I’m not an engineer.

Summary of the patent

Here’s Apple’s abstract of the patent: “Various embodiments relate to sensing defects associated with a window. Furthermore, various embodiments relate to performing image processing to produce a corrected image of a scene based at least partly on data corresponding to the detected defects. In some examples, one or more lighting modules may be used to illuminate the window to facilitate detection of the defects by one or more sensor devices.”

When might we see an Apple Car?

Analyst Ming-Chi Kuo has said that Apple’s work on the Apple Car has “lost all visibility at the current time. He has noted that if Apple does not adopt some kind of acquisition strategy to make inroads in the automotive market, it is unlikely that the ‌Apple Car‌ will be able to go into mass production “within the next few years.”

On. Nov. 18, 2021, Bloomberg reported that Apple was accelerating development on its “Apple Car.” The article said that the electric vehicle will be self-driving and could roll out in 2025. However, this doesn’t look like a feasible scenario.