Citation

Thoone M. Vis. Zero Int. 2010; 2010(Jun): 75-77.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, UKIP Media)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

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Abstract

Rapid advances in electronics engineering and sciences indicate that almost 90% of innovations in the future car will be covered by electronics and 80% of these will occur through software development. Electronics is the systems integrator that provides the way for intelligent or cognitive safety systems. Cars can be equipped with more than 80 separate electronic control units (ECU) to operate the many systems in the vehicle and the challenge of integrating these systems is considerable. Fewer ECUs mean more space, less complexity, fewer parts, simpler wiring harnesses, less weight and reduced cost for the manufacturer. The plan is to migrate the large number of ECUs into four main domain computers. Active and passive safety systems would be converged and share information to help the driver and vehicle avoid a collision. One example of data fusion is automatic emergency braking where designers must be certain that the decision to autonomously apply full braking force independent of the driver is the correct one. Supporting data from radar and cameras checking the road ahead can give a significantly higher level of confidence in applying the vehicle's braking system. However if there are fewer modules controlling more functions in the car, concerns about safety and robust design must be met. The ideal is considered to be a product that is 80% standardised and 20% localised so that the design can be customised for the specific consumer.