Automatic rain response system

A method of automatic rain response for a vehicle, the method comprising:

• generating a plurality of acoustic signals with a plurality of microphones of the vehicle in response to rain striking a windshield;
• extracting a plurality of acoustic features from the plurality of acoustic signals;
• receiving a local weather condition;
• forming a plurality of feature vectors in response to the plurality of acoustic features and the local weather condition;
• classifying the plurality of feature vectors to determine a current class among a plurality of classes;
• activating a plurality of windshield wipers at a high speed in response to the current class being a heavy rain on a windshield class;
• activating the plurality of windshield wipers at a medium speed in response to the current class being a freezing rain on the windshield class;
• activating the plurality of windshield wipers at a low speed in response to the current class being a light rain on the windshield class;
• and
• deactivating the plurality of windshield wipers in response to the current class being a no rain class.

A vehicle comprising:

• a windshield;
• and
• an automatic rain response system in communication with the windshield, the automatic rain response system including:
• a plurality of microphones configured to generate a plurality of acoustic signals in response to rain striking the windshield;
• a plurality of windshield wipers;
• and
• a controller in communication with the plurality of microphones, and configured to:
• receive a local weather condition;
• extract a plurality of acoustic features from the plurality of acoustic signals;
• form a plurality of feature vectors in response to the plurality of acoustic features and the local weather condition;
• classify the plurality of feature vectors to determine a current class among a plurality of classes;
• activate the plurality of windshield wipers at a high speed in response to the current class being a heavy rain on a windshield class;
• activate the plurality of windshield wipers at a medium speed in response to the current class being a freezing rain on the windshield class;
• activate the plurality of windshield wipers at a low speed in response to the current class being a light rain on the windshield class;
• and
• deactivate the plurality of windshield wipers in response to the current class being a no rain class.