GM Explores Self-Cleaning Touchscreen For Fingerprint-Free Dashboards
Infotainment systems in cars are getting increasingly complex and are on track to becoming the main way drivers interact with their vehicles. However, with that comes sticky and grimy fingerprint marks on screens that could mess up one’s pristine interior.
Instead of making customers take time out of their busy days to wipe down their screens, General Motors wants to do all the hard work for you.
The company has just passed a blueprint for a model titled ‘self-cleaning system for displays using light emitting diodes emitting invisible violet light’ with the US Patent Office.
The document details the makeup of its future LED screens. Typically, such displays have only red, green, and blue LEDs, which can make up a full-color palette. GM is thinking of adding a fourth dimension tuned to the invisible ultraviolet wavelength.
Following in the footsteps of other self-cleaning surfaces, such as solar panels, there will also be another layer of metal-oxide-based photocatalysts like titanium dioxide. When exposed to UV light, it begins sucking moisture out of the air as it turns into a super-hydrophilic component.
The water condensates on the surface, eventually oxidizing to electrochemically produce free radical molecules that can eliminate bacteria, DNA, fungi, and more.
Once the UV light disappears, the surface becomes water resistant, and the droplets will roll off it after effectively sanitizing the entire display.
You might wonder how the light can get to the screen if it is within the car. That’s where the extra UV pixels come in. This fourth layer added to the LEDs will act as a close-proximity UV light that can clean itself anytime.
However, such technology might do better in other areas, such as on televisions, laptops, and desktops, rather than cars. Thankfully, the patent notes that this tech could also transfer over to other screens.
Until the future of self-cleaning devices becomes a reality, drivers will have to stick to a good old microfiber cloth.
[via New Atlas and Autoevolution, Photo 88112294 © Katie Nesling | Dreamstime.com]
