The invention relates to a sensor system for distance measuring for a motor vehicle, comprising at least one ultrasonic sensor with a sensor housing and at least one membrane with a membrane diameter that is capable of being electrically stimulated into vibrations and a control unit for controlling the at least one membrane as well as for detecting vibrations of the at least one membrane, wherein the control unit is configured to stimulate in a measuring mode the at least one membrane into vibrations with a measuring frequency and a measuring amplitude. The control unit is configured to stimulate the at least one membrane in a cleaning mode into such vibrations that the sensor housing is set into vibrations with a housing amplitude that amounts to at least 1% of the membrane diameter. Further, the invention relates to a motor vehicle and a method for cleaning an ultrasonic sensor.

A glass cleaning system includes: a housing including at least one peripheral sidewalls being substantially perpendicular relative to a side of a vehicle to which the housing is attached, a cover, and a vision system including at least one sensor and processing circuitry, wherein the vision system is disposed in an interior of the housing, the at least one sensor is communicatively coupled to the processing circuitry, and the vision system is configured to be used with the vehicle to detect surrounding objects and determine distances between said objects and the vehicle; a window mounted as the at least one peripheral sidewall of the housing and configured to tilt towards the interior of the housing into an angled orientation and back; a drain duct disposed in the interior of the housing; and at least one spray nozzle.

Methods and systems are provided for controlling a radar system in a vehicle. In particular, the method and system employs a heating element within or affixed to a portion or proximate to a vehicular radar sensor and where the method and system is operative to determine that a blockage of the vehicular radar sensor has occurred and that an icing condition may exist, and to activate the heating element in response.

A cleaning unit for cleaning foreign matter from a cover, in particular a cover of a transmitter/receiver window of an environment sensor, including at least one movable wiper blade, which is arranged so as to wipe off foreign matter such as water or dirt on the cover by movement along the cover. For this purpose, the wiper blade touches the cover for example with one or multiple rubber lips. The wiper blade is positioned in an inclined manner with respect to a direction of movement of the wiper blade and is thus movable in such a way that a force exerted by the moved wiper blade on the foreign matter has a component in the direction of the force of gravity. Also described is a related device for sensing the environment as well as a method for cleaning a cover.

An apparatus configured to induce airflow over a sensor lens is provide. The apparatus includes a sensor lens; and a plasma actuator. The plasma actuator may include a dielectric element, a first electrode disposed under the dielectric element, a second electrode disposed on the dielectric element such that the second electrode is exposed, and a plasma layer disposed in between the first electrode and the second electrode. The plasma actuator may be disposed at a periphery of the sensor lens.

A medium distributing assembly for a vehicle design element includes a medium guide including at least one medium receiving element; and at least one medium exit element, where the medium exit element has at least partly an annular form.

Systems and techniques are provided for deicing/defrosting an ultrasonic sensor using frequency tuning. An example method can include determining that a radiation surface of a housing of an acoustic sensor includes a layer of frozen precipitation, wherein the housing contains a transducer configured to emit sound waves through the radiation surface and receive sound waves that are reflected from a target and pass through the radiation surface to the transducer; determining resonance frequency for sound waves that yields a shear stress on an interface between the radiation surface and the layer of frozen precipitation on the radiation surface, wherein the shear stress exceeds an adhesive shear strength of the layer of frozen precipitation; generating the sound waves having the resonance frequency; and removing the layer of frozen precipitation on the radiation surface based on the sound waves having the resonance frequency.

A system includes an optical sensor defining a field of view. The system includes a first transparent shield within the field of view. The system includes a second transparent shield movable between a first position and a second position, the first position being within the field of view and spaced from the first shield to define a gap therebetween, the second position being outside the field of view. The system includes a nozzle positioned to direct fluid into the gap.

A sensor cleaning control device and method are based on recognition of surrounding objects around a vehicle. The control device and method are applied to a vehicle and consider an object recognized in scattering areas where contamination occurs due to a fluid sprayed from a nozzle to clean blockages or contamination on sensing portion covers provided at sensors, perform cleaning delay using the washer fluid through nozzle delay spraying by a controller, perform air cleaning not using the washer liquid through nozzle air spraying, and do not perform the cleaning through nozzle non-spraying due to replacement of data of other sensor so that the contamination of the object that is contaminated due to the sensor cleaning is reduced or prevented.

A method for heating an ultrasonic transducer, in which an interior of the ultrasonic transducer together with a diaphragm element is heated by thermal radiation of a component, the temperature of the diaphragm element being increased to a temperature above the freezing point. The heating is achieved by a component which in a first operating mode is used to implement a transmitting and/or receiving operation of the ultrasonic transducer, and in a second operating mode is operated in such a way that the component has an increased electrical power loss compared to the first operating mode.