Robert Kearns’ Windshield Wipers

Origin
Robert Kearns was unfortunately blinded in the left eye by a runaway cork during his wedding. Driving his Ford Galaxie in light rain became a hassle due to the constant movement of the wiper blades worsening his subpar vision. To remedy this issue, Kearns designed a wiper system that swiped every few seconds to mimic the periodic blinking of the human eye.

He brought this new system to the Big Three car manufacturers, Ford, Chrysler and General Motors. All rejected his idea as non-revolutionary but proceeded to install them in new models. Kearns sued for copyright infringement and struck a successful blow against the large car manufacturers, winning suits against Ford and Chrysler but later missing deadlines to secure rights against foreign manufacturers. The auto industry claimed that any invention worth patents and royalties must be innovative and add new components; the courts ruled in Kearns favor.

Effects
Attaching it to a vehicle will create an intermittent barrier around the frame and passengers, even after they leave the vehicle. It will brush off dust particles, reflect nuisance light sources and seal them off from water. Objects the user decides to handle will not be affected, although the same cannot be said for annoying people. They will find themselves repeatedly slammed sideways into walls without any physical contact; those who are constantly against the user will find sharp cuts and even broken bones. The main wielders, namely the vehicle’s owner and driver, will suffer from greater irritability and loss of depth perception between their eyes.