The idea for this experiment came from my dad. One rainy day, as we were sitting in the car, I noticed that while the windshield wipers kept the front window clear, the side windows were still blurry and hard to see through. This made turning and changing lanes much more difficult.
That got me thinking—why don’t cars have wipers for the side windows too? Then another thought struck me: what if air pressure could do the job instead? I remembered how, at self-service car washes, the powerful dryers at the end could easily blow water droplets away.
So, I started designing. Using our own car as a reference, I measured the dimensions with a ruler and first shaped a rough prototype out of clay to visualize it. After a few adjustments, I modeled it in 3D software and printed it with a 3D printer. For the first test, I tried using a regular fan, but I quickly realized the airflow wasn’t strong enough.
I went back to research basic principles of aerodynamics and learned that if the inlet is larger and the outlet is narrower, airflow velocity increases. With that in mind, I redesigned my 3D model and printed a second version. This time, when it rained, my dad helped me test it. We mounted the device on the side window and drove around an empty area. He put his hand out to feel the airflow. Unfortunately, the raindrops on the glass didn’t move at all.
Back at home, I dove deeper into my research and realized my design still needed significant improvements. This project is definitely a work in progress. If anyone with expertise has suggestions or advice, I’d be more than happy to hear from you—please feel free to email me.
