ALEXANDRIA, Va., June 12 -- United States Patent no. 12,302,461, issued on May 13, was assigned to Waymo LLC (Mountain View, Calif.).
"Defogging system using a transparent condensation sensor and heater" was invented by Noah Lassar (Santa Cruz, Calif.) and Yiwei Wang (Sunnyvale, Calif.).
According to the abstract* released by the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office: "The technology relates to keeping sensors of a perception system optically clear and free from condensation. A transparent film, such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), acts as a moisture sensor that covers the optical area of interest. When a measured value of the moisture sensor meets a certain threshold that indicates the presence of condensate, power is applied to the sensor, turning ...