Autonomous vehicles require multiple optical sensors, such as cameras or LIDAR, in the car’s body on all sides. Today, such sensors are mostly used for parking assistance.

In automated driving, the accurate function of these sensors is required to ensure safe driving. Contaminants such as dirt, dust, organic material and different phases of water (ice, rain, snow, etc.) on the surface of the sensor yield blurry and inaccurate images, thus leading to erratic system performance.

This project is about building a cover mechanism for camera of a car that does not require cleaning and protect the lens of the camera from giving blur vision due to particles like dust, rain, snow and so on. This can be done using the device as seen in the picture. Assume the blue part is the camera, the red circles the cover for the camera lens, the yellow is turning key or pointer and the green is indicator. The first cover which is #1 is fixed with the camera and when the cover lens is affected by any factors I mentioned above and make the camera blur the drive will turn the turning key clockwise until the pointer reaches the number two indicator. Then the lens cover simultaneously rotates clockwise and switches the #1 lens cover to lens cover #2. And same thing will happen when the second lens got a dirty, the drier switch it to the third. Then after all of the 10 cover lens has been used, the driver can clean them manually or the lens can be cleaned when the car is at home or garage getting service or while being in car wash. The mechanism is very simple, low cost and can be used in any type of camera and car.

For more information please visit https://www.globalinnovationexchange.org/innovation/new-mechanism-to-keep-the-lenses-of-camera-clean