Electronics in Automobiles - Again!

Dear Readers,

Thank you for patiently reading my first Blog on electronics adoption in the Automobile segment. Continue to post your views and comments.

This week too, I would like to continue with the automotive segment and share a few more advances that are taking shape. Before looking at the specific advances, consider the following scenario.

Let’s travel a few years into the future, may be to 2012. Imagine driving a car that is fueled by water (basically hydrogen), on a rainy day. You are about a kilometer from a blind turn that is already choked just beyond the curve. Sensors placed on the road communicate with your car about this and warns about the approaching block. The sensors in the car assess the slippery nature and transmit the information to the car’s control unit which in turn synthesizes multiple inputs and takes a series of actions. It activates the ABS, slows down at the turn and assesses alternate routes – all this while you are enjoying the hi-fi music inside!

This is not any science fiction and experiments are already under way in the west and in Japan on such possibilities. No doubt – this calls for an entire overhaul of the road infrastructure.

There are couple of other high tech technologies that are likely to become a standard feature in the automobiles of the future. Many countries may even mandate these features – considering the safety aspects they offer!

Let’s sample a few such technologies:

1. Image recognition and communications systems. These systems sense road conditions using cameras and Radars in an effort to avoid accidents and avoid collisions.
2. Integrated and automatic control of vehicle subsystems like, electronic throttle, Airbag control, ABS, suspension control and steering control. These are again designed to avoid accidents by using sensor technologies. Drive by wire technologies are also emerging.
3. Emerging interconnect and bus standards like FlexRay for onboard LAN, supporting high speed data transfer between various electronic modules in an automobile.
4. Drive recorders, described as “black boxes” for vehicles are now appearing in passenger vehicles, providing new growth opportunities for electronic manufacturers. Black boxes provide key advantages like, faster accident processing, reducing the number of accidents, reduced fuel expenses and accumulation of data for the development of next generation safety devices. Black boxes consist of acceleration sensors, GPS receiver, camera modules, image processing ICs and storage devices.
5. Advanced alcohol sensors embedded in the dashboard and steering that sense alcohol levels and disable the vehicle if the driver is under the influence of alcohol.
6. Intelligent anti theft devices, sophisticated keys and immobilizers.
7. Computer systems that map and observe human face through cameras installed on the dashboard. This tracks gaze and eyelid closure and can warn driver fatigue. This can be linked with the central control system to initiate appropriate actions.
8. Improving driving safety through roadway – vehicle cooperative systems using radio communication technology. US, Europe and Japan are working on such technologies, but using different standards. Enormous potential exists in terms of standardization so that global adoption becomes easier. The US and Europe plan to use the IEEE802.11p standard for car to car communication and Japan uses a different one. Nevertheless, the vehicle to vehicle and road to vehicle communication can both be used to prevent accidents.
9. Vehicle Navigation systems are being mooted by companies like Toyota. These are electronic modules with Hard Disk Drives and are integrated with the vehicle’s control system to provide additional safety, comfort and precision.
10. Efficient, customizable climate control systems with green coolants.

These are only samples and many more are under development. Discovery Channel provides a good perspective of many such trends.

I will come back to you next week with a different topic. I will revisit the automotive segment sometime later.

See you until then – and don’t forget to post your comment!

Paddy SN