Auto Glass History: Tracing the evolution of the Windshield

Long before asphalt streets and horseless carriages, glassmakers were already experimenting with ways to strengthen glass. In 1874, François Barthélémy Alfred Royer de la Bastie of Paris patented a technique as innovative as his name was long: tempering. This original technique involved quenching nearly molten sheets of glass in oil to induce surface compression and dramatically increase its strength. This “toughened” glass would shatter into small, less dangerous fragments. Tempered glass production has advanced significantly since then, and is still commonly used in vehicles today, particularly for side and rear windows.

During the first years of automotive development, virtually no production automobiles came equipped with a glass windscreen. Early motor vehicles were essentially open carriages, and drivers protected their eyes with goggles or folding visors rather than fixed glass. It wasn’t until around 1904 that the first optional plate-glass windscreens appeared on select models. With no wipers or sealed cabin to keep the elements at bay, engineers solved visibility problems caused by debris buildup on the glass by adding hinges at the midpoint. A quick push let the top half fold down, clearing rain, mud, or insects from the driver’s line of sight. For the next decade, windscreens were premium extras, just like headlights and speedometers.

Before the 1950s, the glass industry still relied on laborious hand-finishing processes of grinding and polishing to ensure the glass was flat, uniformly thick, and free of distortions. A better technique was overdue, and in 1952, Sir Alastair Pilkington and Kenneth Bickerstaff invented the “float process”: a continuous production method that allowed molten glass to “float” on a bed of molten tin, yielding perfectly flat, distortion-free sheets. By July 1958, Pilkington had produced the first commercial float-glass sheets, and the float technique is still used to manufacture glass by them and others today. You might even receive a Pilkington-brand windshield as your replacement at Windshield Surgeons, especially if you drive a high-end luxury vehicle.

Starting around the early 2000s, automakers began embedding forward-facing cameras on or near windshields and integrating radar and LiDAR sensors into vehicle bodies, transforming windshields into critical sensor platforms. These devices work together to monitor lane markings, detect nearby obstacles and other road users, and feed real-time data to driver-assist features such as lane-keep assist, adaptive cruise control and automatic emergency braking. These types of features are collectively known as Advanced Driver Assistance Systems, or ADAS. By fusing multiple streams of sensor input, modern ADAS windshields can warn drivers of potential hazards or even intervene when needed, improving overall safety and reducing the risk of collisions.

These modern ADAS features add considerable complexity to auto glass service, as their components need to be handled with care during a windshield replacement, and calibrated after new glass has been installed. At Windshield Surgeons Auto Glass, we have watched as ADAS systems have evolved over our 35 years in business, and offer comprehensive calibration services for a wide variety of vehicles. Our technicians can perform expert ADAS calibration using state-of-the-art equipment and software, and can complete both your replacement and recalibration service all in one convenient appointment. Let us put our years of ADAS experience to work and ensure your vehicle’s safety systems perform exactly as the manufacturer intended.