A windshield wiper system (100) includes a pivoting wiper arm (110); a wiper blade (120) for wiping a surface (102); and a connector assembly (128) coupling the pivoting wiper arm (110) to the wiper blade (120), the connector assembly (128) comprising a gear drive (130) including at least one drive gear (132) and at least one positioning cog (136), wherein the gear drive (130) rotates the wiper blade (120) based on an angular position of the pivoting wiper arm (110) such that an arc of a motion path (320) of the wiper blade (120) is reduced.