The incorporation of advanced technological features into automobiles has created an alarming number of distractions for drivers. One feature designed to ease the burden on vehicle operators is an automatic rain-sensing wiper system, which can turn on the car’s wipers when rain is detected on the windshield. Current systems use an optical sensor, which has a small detection area and is prone to error. Our design team, sponsored by HATCI, is working to develop a more accurate and cost-effective sensor using capacitive-sensing technology. Our sensor will establish an electric field which will extend through the windshield and out of the glass a short distance. Objects with certain dielectric or conductive properties, such as rain, interfere with this electric field, changing the capacitance of the sensor. The capacitance of the sensor can be monitored using advanced circuitry and relayed to a microcontroller for processing. By characterizing the response to rain, we can program the microcontroller to turn the wipers on when a corresponding change in capacitance occurs.