Automotive Electronics Handbook, Second Edition
Use this guide to become an instant expert on today's leading edge auto electronic technologies--stability control, object detection, collision warning, adaptive cruise control, and more.
TABLE OF CONTENTS Automotive Electronics Handbook, Second Edition
Part 1: Introduction
Chapter List
- Chapter 1: Introduction
Ronald K. Jurgen
Editor
1.1 The Dawn of a New Era
In today's world of sophisticated automotive electronics, it is easy to forget how far the technology has come in a relatively short time. In the early 1970s, other than radios and tape players, the only standard electronic components and systems on most automobiles were alternator diodes and voltage regulators. [1] By the fall of 1974, "there were twelve electronic systems available, none of which were across the board standard production items.... The twelve electronic systems or subsystems were: alternator diodes, voltage regulators, electronic fuel injection, electronic controlled ignition, intermittent windshield wipers, cruise control, wheel lock control, traction control, headlamp control, climate control, digital clocks, and air bag crash sensors." [2]
1.1.1 Car Makers and the Electronics Industry: Friendly Adversaries
In the early days of automotive electronics, the automotive industry and the electronics industry were often at odds. Carmakers needed inexpensive components and systems that would operate reliably in the extremely harsh automotive environment. The electronics industry, on the other hand, used to producing high-quality but expensive parts and systems for the military, was skeptical about its ability to produce the components the automobile industry wanted at the prices they demanded. But both industries realized that electronics could provide the capability to solve automotive problems that defied conventional mechanical or electromechanical approaches.
Some of the leading electronics engineers who worked in the automotive industry as well as their counterparts in the electronics industry realized that this...
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