Rise of the Machines - Brief history of car electronics

Rise of the Machines - Brief history of car electronics

Today there will not be even a single technology discussion that will not include self-driving cars. Such is the impact of electronics, that it is redefining the automotive industry and the world we know as of today. Well, how did it all happen?  

Automobiles were considered as purely mechanical commodity until the influx of electronics. Mechanical systems had somewhat limited accuracy and prone to wear and tear  which caused unforeseen failures and also posed threat to passengers. These limitations meant that there was a lot of scope for innovation in the automotive sector. Cars have been fitted with Transistorized Radio's since the 50's. By the beginning of the 70s, only a few electronic components were available in the cars which include voltage regulators, electronic fuel injection, wipers, lamp and wiper controls, etc.. Needless to say, that these features were available in only a few vehicle models. But the real push started when the government of the US created the emission regulations. During the early 1960s, the United States first recognized the need to combat increasing air pollution.  A major health hazard created by a summer smog in Los Angeles in 1963 pushed the government to create one of first environment law,the  federal Clean Air Act. The restriction by law on emission was made even more stringent from 1968 on, which meant that it was difficult to produce vehicle for late 1967 . It was clear that the upcoming emission norms at that time could not be achieved with the then available. Bosch introduced a electronically controlled injection system In 1967  at the International Motor Show in Frankfurt. It was initially marketed in the United States, owing to the strict new emissions standards in the important Californian market. technology. The micro-controllers were first introduced in 1971. Its first application in the auto industry was an advanced ignition system built by DELCO-REMY in 1977 called MISAR (micro-processed sensing and autoregulation). It controlled the ignition timing precisely based on the sensor inputs from crankshaft, coolant temperature, etc.. This is the start of the era of intelligent systems in Automobiles. 

Some of the significant milestones in automotive electronics technology 

1970’s:  Engine control 

1980’s: Anti-lock braking  

1990’s: body control, instrument panel lighting, auto-locking systems, and keyless entry 

2000’s: navigation, infotainment, satellite radio, Steer-by-wire, wireless connectivity 

2010’s: Early stage of Autonomous Driving Tech 

The Future: 

Think of the Terminator, or many other science fiction stories, where a robot looks at a person or an object and scans the information on who or what they are. Augmented Reality dashboards,( AR ) will function in a similar way for drivers. BMW has a windshield display in some of their vehicles which displays basic information and  they're also in process of creating AR dashboards that can identify objects in front a vehicle. AR GPS system could visually guide us to the required lane and also guide on turns and traffic signs without keeping eyes off the road. Future cars will be fully connected with things and humans. In order to be autonomous cars must be able to get information with the outside world like  weather conditions , traffic, vehicle condition, etc. . It will be able to communicate with other vehicles and also with the traffic signals , roads, buildings, etc...  

After autonomous driving is fully available, there will be many radical changes to vehicles. Steering wheel, pedals and other controls will disappear and there will be only displays and controls via the windshield.  

Let us hope that future innovations in this industry shall make our lives more exciting