Ford System of protection of sensors of UAVs against insects

2019: Announcement of a system of protection of sensors of UAVs against insects

On September 13, 2019 the Ford company reported that it developed the system of protection of sensors of UAVs against insects.

According to the company, each driver at least once faced importunate insects who in warm season remain on a windshield during driving. For normal cars similar will not become a grandiose problem – easy pollution without effort clean up using window wipers. But for autonomous transport the insect who got on the sensor can be a serious noise to the further movement. During further development of unmanned vehicles, Ford created special technology which will allow them to cope with such external pollution as dust, road dirt and insects effectively.

Unmanned vehicles are guided in space using the systems of perception and recognition. For example, Ford UAVs with it are helped by "tiara" - construction on a roof of the autonomous vehicle on which a number of the cameras, lidars and radars helping the see car where it moves is located. Unlike the managed cars where assessment of space is made by the driver, pilotless transport completely relies upon radars and cameras. For this reason pollution of such systems insects constitutes real danger to safety of all participants of traffic.

In the last several years in Ford began to investigate more seriously a problem of cleaning of the contaminated sensors and to look for effective solution. The company began with simulation of hit of dirt and dust on the systems of autonomous transport. Specialists of Ford also watered lidars, imitating heavy rain. And completely to study danger of insects to radars and to find an optimal method of cleaning, Ford developers created the special launching unit which directed insects to sensors of cars at high speeds.

Early studies led to development of the mechanism protecting "tiara". In Ford developed a system from the air ducts close to lenses of cameras. During the movement of the car air flows created the "an air veil" interfering collision of insects with car radars around "tiara".

Such method was successful. Tests showed that the air veil not only took away the majority of insects from sensors, but also saved an insect life. However in certain cases insects nevertheless managed to break through an air board therefore Ford developers began to look for more effective method of protection of the sensor.

As the sensitivity of sensors does trips to normal washing extremely impractical and even dangerous to autonomous transport, engineers of Ford set for themselves the task to find a method to implement the washing systems directly in construction of UAVs. It led to development of the system of cleaning integrated into "tiara" which involves special nozzles of the next generation near each lens of the camera. As required nozzles spray stekloomyvayushchy liquid. Using the advanced program algorithms which help autonomous cars to estimate extent of pollution of radars, the cleaning system focuses only on dirty sensors, without spending liquid for net. The cycle of cleaning comes to the end with drying of superficial tiaras sensors using air.

A system was already tested on unmanned vehicles in forests in the west of North America. Tests will also continue on third generation of test Ford UAVs which for September, 2019 are brought to Deytroyt's streets, Pittsburgh, Miami and Washington.

For September, 2019 the development team of Ford registered already about 50 patents connected with the systems of cleaning of autonomous transport, showing that creation of UAVs comes out far beyond programming. Developers are sure that "tiara" of unmanned vehicles is not just the location of cameras and sensors, and, actually, the first defense line for the systems of perception and recognition.