Bugs crashed into cars might help cars not crash into bigger things

The bugs research that won Mark Hostetler an Ig Nobel Prize in 1997 is now, two decades later, finding new uses. A news report in Forbes magazine explains:

Ford Launches Bugs At Sensors Because Keeping Them Clean Is Crucial For Self-Driving Cars

To address this, Venky Krishnan,  Ford Autonomous Vehicle Systems Core Supervisor and his team consulted with zoologist Mark Hostetler to learn more about bugs. They crafted a bug launcher to fire dead insects at sensors and record it with high-speed cameras. If you’ve ever driven in areas with a lot of insects, you’ll know that simply using a conventional windshield washer system and wiper is simply not up to the task of removing a bug that strikes the glass at 70 mph.