Supercar manufacturer McLaren is reportedly working on technology that may consign the windscreen wiper to history.

The new invention works by vibrating the windscreen at a frequency that cannot be heard by humans, which will prevent rain, mud and flies from adhering to the glass.

The design is reportedly adapted from similar technology found on combat jets, and will effectively create a force field that prevents unwanted matter from obscuring a driver’s vision.

While such a technology will be bad news for manufacturers of windscreen wipers and associated fluids, it could mark the end of smeared windows and wipers that freeze in the winter. If the system becomes a must-have feature for the modern car – alongside airbags and electric windows – then McLaren could stand to make a great deal from licensing it to other car makers. Unless of course the firm only fits it to its own cars, which could be the case by 2015.

The windscreen wiper is considered one of the most archaic aspects of the car, having been patented by Briton James Henry Apjohn in 1903.

An American property developer called Mary Anderson is thought to have invented the forerunner of the technology now being developed by McLaren – also in 1903. It did not, however, take off in the same way.

Indeed, only the military have used it until recently. In an interview with the Sunday Times, Frank Stephenson, chief designer at McLaren, said, “It took a lot of effort to get this out of a source in the military.”

As a leading vehicle recovery provider, here at startrescue.co.uk, we understand how many people have problems with windscreen wipers, so this new technology will be of great interest to motorists everywhere.