Discuss: Tesla Patents Self-Cleaning Camera Lens With Built-In Wiper

stourwalk

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May 20, 2026
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I'm confused - if the dirt is on the camera housing (which is presumably the bit on the outside world) - how will a blade inside it clean the outside? Maybe the picture is misleading but I can't see how it cleans the outside of the camera?
 

Procal

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Jun 12, 2024
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That is honestly pretty cool! I wonder how it would work for the cameras on the side pillars. Would they just be exposed to the elements instead of being behind glass like they are now? Also, what would it mean for heating the cameras when they start to ice over? Nonetheless, I'd imagine that this will likely be tested on things like Cybercab or other Robotaxi vehicles before they ever make it to regular customer cars.
 

TESLASUPERFAN

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Aug 27, 2024
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I'm confused - if the dirt is on the camera housing (which is presumably the bit on the outside world) - how will a blade inside it clean the outside? Maybe the picture is misleading but I can't see how it cleans the outside of the camera?
The outside does NOT need to be cleaned, just the lens……just like the eye lid. It faces forward, so dirt on the side does not affect it.

Now haze from excessive heat, fog and even sun light/car high beam glare is still an hindrance.

By incorporating a unique geometric invisible pattern on the surface could diffuse glare. Unlike the human eye-the camera could rotate on a 360 degree axis to clean dirt from outer edge.

The spray would act as a solvent to help break down hard dirt deposits.
 

TESLASUPERFAN

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Also, they currently do post a notification if yr camera is dirty.

U could just wipe the pillar side cams manually-I know this means a tiny bit of effort but it does work.

Sure, in a frozen snow storm this might not be ideal but often the more tech u put into a simple fix often ends up translating to the more things can stop working.
 

stourwalk

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May 20, 2026
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The outside does NOT need to be cleaned, just the lens……just like the eye lid. It faces forward, so dirt on the side does not affect it.

Now haze from excessive heat, fog and even sun light/car high beam glare is still an hindrance.

By incorporating a unique geometric invisible pattern on the surface could diffuse glare. Unlike the human eye-the camera could rotate on a 360 degree axis to clean dirt from outer edge.

The spray would act as a solvent to help break down hard dirt deposits.

Thats where I'm being confused by that image - I saw it as the lens housing was a cutaway, so it encases the lens, which places the blade on the inside of that. Are you saying the lens housing is only partially obscuring the lens? The optic nerve and lens are inside the eyeball, with the eyelid on the outside of it. Just as a wiper blade has the mechanism to hold the actual blade "outside" of the blade - which is against the glass.