Now, a research team at the Korea Research Institute of Chemical Technology has developed a material that heals scratches on the sensor of an autonomous vehicle. The self-healing lens material can prevent can accidents that occur due to signal distortion by restoring scratches on the sensor surface of the self-driving car…

Traffic accidents caused by recognition errors and malfunctions of vision systems such as LiDAR sensors and image sensors of self-driving cars have repeatedly occurred. As a result, confidence in the safety of self-driving cars is rather low, according to a survey by the American Automobile Association in 2023.

The research team developed a transparent lens material that can remove scratches on the sensor surface within 60 seconds when focused sunlight is irradiated using a simple tool such as a magnifying glass.