I started working in the avionics electronics industry in the late 60’s. At that time the engineers already said they had the capacity to build an airplane which could take off; fly; and land automatically.
There was a joke going around the facility. The first automated flight from NYC to London was widely advertised and people signed up to experience it.
They boarded, the engines started and the plane took off under computer control.
Once they got up there, the loudspeaker came on. "Welcome to the first totally automatic flight. Sit back; and relax. Nothing can go wrong … can go wrong … can go wrong … can go wrong … "
My car has the headlight switch where I expect it and like it–on the left side of the dash. The wipers are on the turn signal stalk, also a good place for them IMHO. My GF’s vehicle has a lever for the wipers and you twist the turn signal stalk for lights. I had a rental like this too, and it had one ring to twist for the intermittent wiper speed, next to another ring for the rear wiper. I was constantly bumping that thing and turning on the wipers. It didn’t help that I rented the thing in a torrential downpour and had to try and figure some of it out on the fly. I’ve always thought the lever for wipers was a stupid design anyway. With all these extra stalks and levers everywhere, it becomes like the car from Chitty-Chitty Bang-Bang. On the other side of the equation is too much “simplicity”, such as BMW’s “i-drive” system.
I think overall that the tech added to cars is a good thing, but I hate the way the transmission on mine wants to adapt to the way I drive. This would be fine if I drove the same every day, but some days I take it easy and some days I like to drive in a more spirited fashion. I prefer the car to be consistent, something I can work around. Not a constantly changing variable.
The problem with systems that try to think for you (at least for me) is that at least 50% of the time, they do a poor job of anticipating my wishes, whether we’re talking cars or the latest feeble offering from Microsoft. Possibly with software like everything else, the “soul” of the designer is captured in the final product. So if the system you’re using is designed by someone with a like mind, it works great for you, but if designed by a very different personality, you’re not going to be happy. I suppose this has applied through the ages from the time the first cavemen were trading tools and weapons with others.
Perhaps this is why the opinion I’ve offered before that people have varying luck with different makes of cars seems to be true. I’ve had decent luck with Chrysler products; not so much with Fords. There are dozens of others on this site that clearly have had different experiences.
What I got from that article is the first officer spoke up about sink rate, the trainer mentioned speed minutes before the crash. The trainee, a b747 captain, failed to act. This is 90% human error, 10% ergonomic issue.
The pilot is there to monitor the landing and override the automation when it isn’t producing the desired result. Aviation can have automation perform most of the task because pilots are taught what the aircraft is supposed to do and know if the automation is preforming correctly.
In contrast, most car drivers can care less what the car is supposed to do for any given input. They do not have the slightest clue on whether the car is behaving correctly and would be less likely to override automation
I was reading an article about cars that will eventually drive themselves to a programmed destination.
Though some think it may never come, the article reminds us that we are now accumulating the technology in cars already. Cruise control, auto braking, driverless parking, gps etc. Like it of not, it will be here. I reminded my wife the other day while driving; cars have come a long way. All you need to drive almost any car on the road, is one good arm, one good leg and one good eye.
Soon people will drive themselves to the local dive bar, get sloshed, and then their car will drive them home, while the drunk guy sleeps it off in the back seat
Speaking of operating under the influence. Run out and get a copy of the movie “Flight” with Denzel Washington. Makes you wonder when you buy your next plane ticket why they don’t have a breathalyzer installed in the cockpit.
With all of the time, money, and engineering invested in the B-2 bomber, one of them crashed on takeoff at Guam a few years ago; all due to moisture in a sensor.
If technology allowed a half billion dollar aircraft to augur in (not a first) then there’s no reason to think that a 25 grand assembly line car won’t augur into the ditch or oncoming traffic because of an electronic glitch.
The thought of my life being in the hands of electronics and sensors that utilize a chassis-ground system scares the stuffing out of me.
I mean, I’ve test-driven beaters where the brakes caused the hazards to stop flashing; where the coolant temp gauge acted as metronome to stereo music, etc…
The reliability test isn’t how well a meticulously-maintained fleet of Prii function in sunny CA–it’s how well it performs in a 15 y.o. rust bucket subject to breakdown maintenance.
I have bought the base model Ford Focus Hatchback (SE trim), and the blue-tooth sync system does read out my text messages. I wouldn’t have paid any extra for this function, but now that I have it I find myself using it-why wait until I get home to know what my wife “says” in her message.
Also, being a stick shift, has a display for gas mileage that also tells you which gear to shift to for best gas mileage. Now that really kills my spirited driving…
THE single biggest drawback to high tech and computers is the all-or-nothing functionality of them .
One little malfunction and you’re walking, towing and high dollar repairing.
No middle ground.
NO minnimum driveability until you get to fix it.
NO get to where you’re going at least.
NO manual override
No plan B
Just dead in the water.
( with a dead battery you can NOT open the rear hatch of my 08 Expedition ! ! )
Not all the computer gadgets in modern cars are mission critical and the engine control unit is more accurately described as a microprossesor than a computor, like your electronic calculator. The most likely thing to fail is one of the feedback sensors and then the ECU usually goes to open loop mode and gives you a check engine light.
You know what usually fails first in an electonic calculator? Usually one of the keyboard buttons.
For most people, a flooded engine due to a stuck automatic choke, or no spark because the breaker points wore to the point of not opening, or mechanical fuel pump vapor lock, may just as well be a non functioning ECU. They usually have to call for help.
The rest of the computor controlled stuff is mostly gadgetry that does not make the car quit.
That said, My Yaris has a manual transmission, the windows open with cranks, the doors lock with a key, and I have on one ocassion started it by letting it roll down a hill and letting out the clutch because my battery was too dead to crank the engine.
Not all the computer gadgets in modern cars are mission critical and the engine control unit is more accurately described as a microprocessor than a computor, like your electronic calculator
The Intel or AMD chip in your PC or Laptop is a microprocessor. Most of the Main-Frame and Mini Systems of 20 years ago the CPU was spread out on 1 or more circuit boards. Microprocessor is a term to describe a CPU that is completely integrated into one chip. The microprocessors of today are over 1000 times more powerful of the Main-Frames just 20 years ago.
Fifty years ago a basic model automobile could be somewhat easily diagnosed and repaired by a teenager with nothing but a $42 Craftsman tool kit and a Chilton manual. To find a missfire, just spit on the exhaust manifold. The manifold of a dead cylinder will be much cooler than a running cylinder. Points could be filed and made operational and fouled plugs cleaned and re-installed. And a complete tune-up would cost less than $10 for parts and a couple of hours at the most. Generators, starters, master cylinders, etc., were rebuilt for $2-$3. And as common as breakdowns were it was very rare that a car was towed.
The technology available today has vastly improved a great many things in our lives including automobiles but the technology has often been so wound up in the operation of so many systems in such a way as to leave the car dead on the road due to the failure of a single link that might require hours of diagnosis and testing by an expensive mechanic. The high school gear head is helpless. That’s a shame.
With the adoption of EFI and other electronics along with things buried by chassis parts, even motorcycles have gotten to the point where a problem that occurs may not be repairable on the side of the road and a truck has to be called in to haul it off.
Not all the computer gadgets in modern cars are mission critical and the engine control unit is more accurately described as a microprossesor than a computor
Here’s where I have a pick to nit.
Typically, the ECU controller is most often a microcontroller not a microprocessor. This was especially true in the early days of electronics in cars (the 68HC11 was a microcontroller of choice in the early years). The difference between them is the level of hardware integration on the chip. A microcontroller has both the CPU (microprocessor) and dedicated peripherals (RAM, ROM, NV RAM, I/O…) integrated inside of the device. This basically still holds true today.
Cars have many controllers as they utilize distributed processing achitectures. Each of the sub processors is connected via a communication scheme like CAN for example. True microprocessors are rarely considered for design of these systems but rather microcontrollers are used because they integrate everything (often including even the comm bus like CAN) into the single device.
Where you might find a microprocessor would be in the user interface sub-system (LCD display, USB ports, GPS, data information center and what have you). There is no real need for integrated peripherals or specific I/O channels in that system and a microprocessor is probably better suited to the tasks.
OK4450- although my bike is carbureted, the fuel pump failed once and left me stranded. I also had a trigger coil fail but it died completely after I shut it off at home. It sputtered a few times on the way home but I thought it was fuel related. Went to start the next day and DOA. Got lucky that time. Dead in garage. Loading the bike on my trailer (for the FP failure), I tied down one side and got off the trailer to go around. As I’m walking to the other side, I can see it slowly falling toward the tied down side. Naturally, it impacted the gas tank on the top rail of the trailer and left a huge dent adding insult to injury…