No More Windshield Wipers?

From Slashdot.com comes yet another link to a story about using nanotechnology to keep windshields clean. This comes during an online debate I have been having with an engineer friend about the possible uses of rain drop power with both nanotechnology and shape recalling deformable substrates that could produce tiny amounts of electric current with each deformation. Hmmm!

Nanotechnology-Powered Wiper-Less Windshield
Posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday February 22, @09:28PM
from the plenty-of-room-at-the-bottom dept.
Technology Science
fab writes "Italian car designer Leonardo Fioravanti (who worked for Pininfarina for a number of years) has developed a car prototype without windshield wipers. This amazing technological feat is made possible thanks to the use of 4 layers of glass modified using nanotechnology. The first layer filters the sun and repels the water. The second layer, using 'nano-dust' is able to push dirt to the side. The third layer acts as a sensor that activates the second layer when it detects dirt, while the fourth layer is a conductor of electricity to power this complex mechanism. I haven't been able to find an English article, but there is always a google powered translation of the Italian article."