• GM filed a patent application for self-cleaning technology for touchscreens.
• Thanks to a photocatalytic process, the screens would be cleaned automatically or at the request of the residents.
• GM offers massive screens, especially on the Cadillac side. Cleaning these huge areas is a challenge.
Like us, if your vehicle is equipped with a touchscreen, you’ll notice that it doesn’t take too long to get dirty and drawn from fingerprints and dust build-up. When the sun beats down on it, the impression of dirt is terrible.
General Motors (GM) could have good news for anyone interested. In fact, the American giant is working on a self-cleaning touchscreen. The company registered a corresponding patent last week with the responsible US office (USPTO: United States Patents and Trademark Office).
The claim submission was spotted by the autoevolution.com website. The system described in the GM-filed document indicates that the technology relies on a photocatalytic coating and violet light to remove oil residue, fingerprints and other dirt.
Image: Cadillac
Cadillac Escalade V – Touchscreen
More specifically, GM’s information explains that touchscreens with LEDs emit visible red, green, and blue light. The violet light of the proposed self-cleaning unit is a fourth LED, this time invisible. It reacts to the photocatalyst in the touchscreen’s clear coating and to the humidity in the air to clean the glass surface.
GM’s patent notes that this process can be activated manually or automatically, depending on the level of sunlight or other circumstances.
And what is a photocatalyst? We asked ourselves this question and assume that many of you will feel the same way. According to the website aquaportail.com, “A photocatalyst is a material that absorbs light to bring it to a higher energy level and then transfers that energy to a reactive substance to initiate a chemical reaction, photocatalysis. “Photocatalysts are defined as materials that break down pollutants under sunlight using UV rays. The photocatalytic process eliminates odors, purifies the air and cleans surfaces.
With increasingly massive screens, like we’ve seen at GM but also elsewhere like Mercedes-Benz, it’s normal for a manufacturer to address the problem of smudges and dirt that accumulate on glazed surfaces.
Obviously you’re not looking for this technology on a GM vehicle tomorrow. We’ll have to see if the idea makes it into production. In the meantime, we’ll have to wash this down the good old-fashioned way; a good rub by hand.