Development and Implementation of a Prototype Automatic Rain-Sensor Car Wiper System

Various studies have been conducted over the years on how to reduce driver distractions while driving, but with little effort on the distraction that could be caused by manually operated wipers while driving whenever it rains. Drivers frequently take their hands off the steering to turn ON/OFF and adjust the wiper speed when driving during rain, which causes a loss of concentration and increases the risk of a car accident. This paper presents an automatic car wiper prototype system that adjusts the speed of the wiper based on the intensity of the rain. The system also includes an audio alert that warns the driver to stop driving during heavy rain. The rain sensor/intensity and servo motor; which regulates the wiper's speed, were interfaced by an ATMega328 (Arduino Uno A000066). It performed satisfactorily, with average response times of 0.78 seconds, 1.95 seconds, and 6 seconds for rain water detection, increasing rain intensity, and no rain detection respectively. The wiper speed was 15 rpm at moderate rain intensity and 32 rpm at heavy rain intensity. The wiper average response time and speed shows that it is a system that eliminate delay as compare to manually operated car wiper system. The developed system will reduce driver distractions while driving thereby reduces the risk of a car accident. As a result, this system can be combined with new technologies seen in contemporary vehicles.