Techno Superhighway
Sydney Morning Herald
Wednesday October 8, 1997
Expect radar cruise control, obstacle detection and electronic chaffeurs to appear in the near future, writes John Carey.
Luxury cars are automotive technology's most fertile field. It is among the six-figure pricetags that bright ideas stand the best chance of production.
The relatively wealthy customer can afford to cover the research and development bill that's required to deliver new technology in a reliable, user-friendly form. And what's more, they want, need, have to have the newest and best the boffins can offer.
Often what begins as high-priced technology for the favoured few ends up in the everyday car. Eventually. Take anti-skid brakes, for instance. They are commonplace in cars today. The German company Bosch will make 7.5 million ABS anti-skid systems worldwide this year. When this potentially life-saving technology appeared, back in 1978, it was to be found only in Mercedes-Benz's most expensive and biggest model. Those early anti-skid brake systems also marked the beginning of the computerisation of the car.
Though it's possible to engineer systems which prevent wheels skidding without the aid of computers, they don't work so well. The computer was central in making anti-skid a sale-able proposition.
Anti-skid systems also provided the framework for other advances which were, naturally, first seen in luxury cars.
Traction-control systems in the late 1980s and vehicle- dynamics control systems in the mid 1990s both stand on the shoulders of anti-skid's technology, using extra computer power to deliver extra benefits. Both will eventually be commonplace.
Much of the new computer-dependent technology making its way into luxury cars over the past year is obvious, for example, navigation, communications and entertainment systems. There is no way a customer can overlook any of these.
The synthesised voice that gives directions in an unfamiliar city, the ability to send an urgent fax from the back seat or watch World's Funniest Home Videos on the way to the airport; all are now possible. They may even be a reason to buy this car instead of that one.
But computers continue to play a key role in delivering less visible advances, today's equivalents of anti-skid brakes.
It's hard to get any closer to the heart of the matter than an engine's ignition system. One of Mercedes-Benz's technical triumphs of the year is the smart ignition system devel-oped for its new family of V6 engines. There are two spark plugs for each cylinder, which isn't anything new.
What's novel is Mercedes' system of phasing the firing of each pair of plugs. The process is, naturally, supervised by a computer. It controls the degree of phase shift according to engine revs and load, giving each plug alternate turns to fire first in order to ensure even wear of their platinum electrodes.
Mercedes says the system gives much more accurate control of combustion, reducing noise, improving the fuel efficiency and reducing emis-sions. But to drive a car equipped with the sytem, you would never guess there was anything at all novel about its engine. It is transparent technology indeed.
As well as messing with ignition, Mercedes has also reinvented the ignition key. Its new CLK coupe doesn't have an ignition lock in any conven-tional sense. Or a key. There is instead a key-like electronic device that plugs into a switch on the dash.
The key-like device can only be turned after an infrared data exchange with the switch. If it's the right "key" for the car, it can be turned. At this point the switch and engine management system run a half second mathematics quiz.
Both set out to solve a complex maths problem. If there's agreement on the answer the car will start. The advantage of this second stage of start-up process is that it avoids reliance on a stored code.
Mercedes claims it would take a powerful computer about 99 years to examine all the possible permutations of the system. The remote control signals from the "key" are transmitted by infrared and radio simultaneously for better range and reliability.
Another German company with a high-tech reputation has blurred the line between manual and automatic transmissions.
The Sequential M Gearbox from BMW is a manual that's automatic. Not the other way round. An option in the brilliant and blindingly quick M3 coupe, the SMG is a dose of Formula 1-style technology blended with automatic ease. There are only two pedals, but the clutch and gearbox are just the same as in a manual M3. Again, a computer makes it all possible.
In automatic mode the transmission computer decides when to change gear, and arranges for the clutch to be disengaged and the gears shifted. In manual mode the driver selects gears by nudging the stumpy shift lever - forward for a change to a lower gear, backwards for an upchange. All in fractions of a second and just like Formula 1 or European touring car drivers. SMG, like the M3 in which it's found, is aimed at keen, quick drivers.
BMW's other technical trumps have much broader appeal. With its Adaptive Cruise Control and Heading Control systems, the virtual back-seat driver has become a reality. Both systems, says BMW, are almost ready for mass production.
The smart cruise control system uses a super compact radar system to scan the road up to 200 metres ahead for other traffic. A computer reads the radar signals and controls the car's throttle to maintain a safe distance. If the system is switched off, it defaults to what BMW calls "active accelerator pedal" mode. Should the system calculate that the driver is too close to a vehicle ahead or is closing at too great a speed it will push up the accelerator pedal. If the driver is determined to override the system, he or she has to press harder on the pedal. The Heading Control works in a similar way, making "suggestions" to the driver through the steering wheel.
With a forward-facing video camera linked to a computer which is able to issue orders for course corrections, the system is able to keep the car in a chosen lane and make corrections for crosswinds and road surface. All the driver feels is the steering wheel making gentle corrections. As with the ACC, the driver can chose to override the system with muscle.
The day is fast approaching when the driver will become totally redundant. In the US researchers are working on the automated highway, roads that will do the driving for you.
A fleet of cars modified by researchers at the University of California in Berkeley have been trialled this year. With a boot full of computers - two 166mHz Pentium PCs - and control hardware, the Buicks literally drive themselves on "smart" highways with a strip of magnets buried beneath the road surface. Two on-board magnetometers give the car something to follow.
Speeding up, slowing down and obstacle avoidance are all handled by the computers in the boot. Sophisticated car-to-car communication systems make it possible to organise the cars into close packed "platoons" and drive at high speed without risk of a driver-error disaster.
A computer crash, however, could obviously lead to a more literal kind of crash.
"We liken the smart car and automated highway system to the ultimate cruise control of an electronic chauffeur," says Dr Steven Shladover, deputy director of the program.
You can safely bet that luxury car customers will be the first to hire Mr Megabyte, the electronic chauffeur.
© 1997 Sydney Morning Herald