A control apparatus that can be mounted on a vehicle which includes an observation apparatus for observing a peripheral environment and a performance recovering apparatus for recovering a performance of the observation apparatus, comprising a predicting unit configured to predict, based on driving information of the vehicle, a degree of performance degradation of the observation apparatus while the vehicle is traveling, and a determination unit configured to determine execution of a driving operation of the performance recovering apparatus based on a prediction result by the predicting unit.

A windshield window wiping system, including a wiper blade in contact with a windshield window; a wiper motor operatively connected to the wiper blade, configured to perform a wiper blade stroke; a reservoir for a wash fluid; a first hood mounted nozzle, configured to project the wash fluid toward the windshield window; a wash pump, wherein the wash pump is hydraulically connected to the first hood mounted nozzle; and a first electronic circuit, configured to estimate a position of the wiper blade during the wiper blade stroke based on an input to the first electronic circuit and to synchronize the projection of the wash fluid toward the windshield window with the estimated position of the wiper blade. In other aspects, a method of wiping a windshield window and a non-transitory computer readable medium are provided.

A cleaner system is mounted on a vehicle including an external sensor configured to acquire information outside the vehicle. The cleaner system includes: a cleaning device configured to clean the external sensor or prevent adhesion of dirt to the external sensor by discharging a cleaning medium to the external sensor; and a cleaner control unit configured to operate the cleaning device at a predetermined cleaning strength when a predetermined operation condition is satisfied. The cleaner control unit further acquires a travel situation of the vehicle, and controls a cleaning strength based on the travel situation.

A windshield window wiping system, including a wiper blade in contact with a windshield window; a wiper motor operatively connected to the wiper blade, configured to perform a wiper blade stroke; a reservoir for a wash fluid; a first plurality of holes on a first leading edge of the wiper blade, configured to project the wash fluid toward the windshield window; a wash pump, wherein the wash pump is hydraulically connected to the first plurality of holes; and a first electronic circuit, configured to estimate a position of the wiper blade during the wiper blade stroke based on an input to the first electronic circuit and to synchronize the projection of the wash fluid toward the windshield window with the estimated position of the wiper blade. In other aspects, a method of wiping a windshield window and a non-transitory computer readable medium are provided.

A vehicle cleaner system includes: a cleaner unit configured to be mounted on a vehicle and to discharge a cleaning liquid to an external sensor that acquires information outside the vehicle so as to clean the external sensor; and a cleaner control unit configured to control the cleaner unit. The cleaner control unit is configured to acquire vehicle speed information related to a traveling speed of the vehicle, and control the cleaner unit such that at least one of a discharge amount of the cleaning liquid, a discharge amount of the cleaning liquid per unit time, the number of times of discharge of the cleaning liquid, the number of times of discharge of the cleaning liquid per unit time, and a discharge time of the cleaning liquid varies according to the vehicle speed information.

A vehicle cleaner system includes a sensor, a cleaner, a vehicle control unit, and a cleaner control unit. The sensor is mounted on a vehicle, and is configured to acquire information around the vehicle, and is configured to output a sensor signal. The cleaner is capable of discharging a cleaning liquid to the sensors. The vehicle control unit is configured to recognize information around a host vehicle or control the host vehicle by using the sensor signal output from the sensor. The cleaner control unit is configured to output to at least one of the sensor and the vehicle control unit an in-operation signal indicating that the cleaner is in operation when the cleaner is in operation.

A vehicle sensor cleaning apparatus and a control method of the vehicle sensor cleaning apparatus are disclosed. The vehicle sensor cleaning apparatus includes a liquid controller configured to control washer fluid spraying to at least one sensor located in a vehicle, and an air controller configured to control air spraying to at least one sensor located in the vehicle, wherein the liquid controller and/or the air controller are further configured to dynamically adjust a duty cycle of a control signal according to vehicle speed and/or an amount of rain.

A system includes a dome, a wiper assembly, a position sensor and a control device. The wiper assembly includes a wiper blade configured to rotate around the dome. The position sensor may be configured to send a signal to a control device when a wiper blade passes the position sensor. The control device may include one or more processors configured to receive the signal from the position sensor and determine a location of the wiper blade relative to the dome based on the received signal.

Provided herein is a system and method for a sensor housing that mitigates glare within the field-of-view and facilitates cleaning of a sensor lens. A sensor assembly may include: a sensor having a sensor lens and a field-of-view through the sensor lens; and a baffle defining a sensor lens aperture, where the field-of-view through the sensor lens is through the sensor lens aperture, where the baffle includes a series of concentric rings extending away from the sensor lens aperture and increasing in diameter as a distance from the sensor lens aperture increases. According to some embodiments, the series of concentric rings defines a viewing angle, where the viewing angle corresponds to the field-of-view of the sensor lens.

A system including a computer programmed to actuate a spray device on a first vehicle and to receive an image, from a second vehicle, of the actuated spray device. The computer determines whether a spray device fault exists based at least on the image of the actuated spray device, and transmits the spray device fault via a first vehicle communications network.