A self-driving vehicle powered by 5G technology developed by LG Uplus Corp. is shown in this file photo taken on Dec. 16, 2020, in western Seoul. (Yonhap)
DAEJEON, April 21 (Korea Bizwire) — A South Korean research team has developed a new material that can heal scratches on sensors in self-driving cars.
This has some pretty significant implications, because signal distortion caused by scratches on sensor surfaces poses a significant risk factor for autonomous vehicle traffic accidents.
Recognition errors or malfunctioning vision systems, which act as the “eyes” of autonomous vehicles, including LiDAR and image sensors, can lead to traffic accidents and undermine public confidence in the safety of autonomous vehicles.
The team, consisting of researchers from the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology and Kyungpook National University, created a transparent lens material that can remove scratches on sensor surfaces within 60 seconds using sunlight and a magnifying glass.
To develop the material, the researchers mixed a transparent photothermal dye into the thiourethane structure already used in the lens.
When exposed to sunlight, the material converts light energy into thermal energy, which increases the temperature of its surface.
As a result, the polymer undergoes a process of dismantling and recombination, allowing it to self-heal scratches.
The material demonstrated a 100 percent self-healing capability, even with intersected scratches.
Additionally, it maintained a restoration efficiency of 100 percent even after the process of creating scratches and healing them was repeated in the same location more than five times.
Kevin Lee (kevinlee@koreabizwire.com)
