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Electronics are Changing the Way We Drive
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| Electronics are Changing the Way We Drive |
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| Updated |
Jun 10, 2004 23:04:52 |
| Rating |
 19 ( -6 -31.57% ) |
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Description:
Electronics are Changing the Way We DriveBy Ron Moorhead
By Ron Moorhead
We take you under the hood to give
you a quick overview on how electronics are changing our cars.
There is little doubt that
electronics have made a major impact on our lives, a trend that doesn't seem to be slowing
down any time soon. The mere fact that you're reading this story on your computer is proof
that bears this out. We now have a whole generation of youngsters who are more comfortable
booting up, logging on and telecommunicating than hand-writing a letter. Because
electronics are so prevalent in our lives, we thought it would be interesting to give a
quick overview on how electronics are changing the cars we drive.
The tie between engine and
transmission in the modern vehicle is a network of wires, sensors and controls. On many
vehicles, no longer does the throttle pedal transmit the driver's input to the engine
through the mechanical means of cables and steel rods. Drive-by-wire is the norm today. An
electronic sensor attached to the gas pedal sends electrical impulses to a tiny electric
motor attached to the engine, which opens and closes the fuel injection valve in exact
relationship to the gas pedal position. This technology results in a smoother running
engine and better fuel economy. Adaptive automatic transmissions are becoming equally as
popular. Computers read information from sensors located throughout the vehicle, and
adjust the degree with which the transmission shifts. Go easy with the gas pedal, the
computer senses you are a gentle driver telling the transmission to shift softly. Get
aggressive with your right foot and the transmission learns your technique and shifts more
aggressively. This new generation of adaptive transmissions have made the notion of the
old slush-box a distant memory.
Electronic seat controls have
developed well beyond the standard fore and aft adjustments. Cadillac introduced a contour
adjustment system as an option on the 1998 Seville STS. These bucket seats automatically
adjust to their contour to fit the occupant's body. If the occupant is in the lower fifth
percentile, say a 5 foot, 100 pound female, the seat adjusts to this smaller framed
individual. On the other end of the spectrum, the seat will quickly and automatically
adjust to fit a 6' 4", 250 pound male frame. Ten individual air bladders built into
the seat adjust automatically as it senses pressure from the occupant's body. This
automatic contouring makes your vehicle's seat just as comfortable for you at the end of a
long day, when we tend to slouch, as it was when we began the day. Other manufacturers
have since followed suit with their own seat personalization systems.
Developments in automotive
electronics have taken great strides, not only in the gathering of information, but also
in the way this information is transferred from sensors to control units. It started with
duplexing, where two types of information or signals can be transmitted over one wire.
Today, multiplexing is commonplace. A number of manufacturers have developed systems for
their luxury vehicles which transfer nearly a dozen individual bits of information to
different components through one wire. This multiplexing of information has accounted for
many more benefits in automotive engineering than is readily apparent. Reducing the size
of the wiring harness of a vehicle reduces the mass weight helping to make automobiles
safer while improving fuel economy. Ford has combined satellite global positioning systems
to gather information about the manner in which a certain vehicle is being operated in the
real world. Implementing a volunteer customer participation program, Ford has been able to
gather data in areas such as how a driver applies the gas pedal and how many times and
with what amount of force the brake is applied. The data even includes how the owner
drives the vehicle during the day, right down to how many times the vehicle has gone over
the legal speed limit.
A group of Ford customers have
volunteered to have a communications control module installed in their vehicles. This
computer-controlled system contains a cellular telephone, a global positioning system and
a small computer which records all the data. Once
this system is installed, Ford
engineers can "call" the vehicle 24 hours a day to read and/or download the
information the computer has recorded. Engineers can log into the system and receive real
time information as the vehicle is being operated. Although this program is still in its
development stage, the way technology is going, it can only be a short time before this
type of system begins showing up in all our vehicles. When this happens we will be
embarking into a whole new realm of information gathering, which will open a whole new
spectrum of life's questions. How much do we really want to know about our driving? |
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