Parallel motion window wiper in an autonomous vehicle

A system, comprising:

• a vehicle;
• a sensor assembly comprising optical sensors of the vehicle, the optical sensors being encased in a box including a window facing a front of the vehicle;
• a wiper assembly coupled to the sensor assembly, the wiper assembly including:
• a linkage assembly;
• a wiper blade removably attached to the linkage assembly and configured to be in contact with the window;
• and
• an actuator coupled to the linkage assembly and configured to enable rotation of the linkage assembly, wherein:
• the actuator is adjacent to the sensor assembly in a longitudinal direction,
• the wiper blade is to translate across the window perpendicular to the longitudinal direction, and
• the linkage assembly extends between the actuator and the wiper blade longitudinally at least partially across the window.

A method for operating a wiper assembly of a vehicle, comprising:

• activating a cleaning mode;
• powering on a motor;
• releasing fluid through a nozzle;
• and
• cycling a wiper blade according to the cleaning mode such that fluid is wiped from a window of a sensor assembly, the window being in contact with the wiper blade,
• wherein:
• the sensor assembly comprises a plurality of optical sensors arranged along a linear axis, the window being between the plurality of optical sensors and the wiper blade,
• the wiper blade is longitudinally oriented parallel to the linear axis,
• the wiper blade is configured to translate in a direction perpendicular to the linear axis while maintaining contact with the window during translation,
• the motor is adjacent to the sensor assembly along the linear axis, and
• a linkage assembly coupling the wiper blade to the motor extends between the motor and the wiper blade longitudinally at least partially across the window.