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Are you ready for your car to be microcontrolled? — Parallax Forums

Are you ready for your car to be microcontrolled?

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  • IRobot2IRobot2 Posts: 164
    edited 2010-05-28 18:09
    Not to be Mr. Road rage but if along with shutting off the cars in a predefined order it would start to MOVE the first car when the light turns green, I would like this idea a lot more. [noparse];)[/noparse]

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  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2010-05-28 18:26
    'Not worried about it. I've never owned a car that's less than twenty years behind the technology curve.

    -Phil
  • sam_sam_samsam_sam_sam Posts: 2,286
    edited 2010-05-28 18:49


    Are they out of there MIND

    they must be kidding to get a· patent for this

    They must want to control the·cars of the·world



    Why ?

    One more thing or part to go wrong

    Are they·going to have it where if some thing goes wrong with there system will the owner of the car be able to over ride the system or not

    This maybe a good or a bad· idea.gif·depending how it is set up

    ·


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  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2010-05-28 18:52
    I would like to see a car shut itself off when its driver is smoking a cigarette, talking on a cell phone, and applying cosmetics all at the same time.
  • sam_sam_samsam_sam_sam Posts: 2,286
    edited 2010-05-28 18:56
    ·· They filed for this·patent November 14, 2008


    What happen from then to now

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    ·Now wanting to learn Spin· Thanks for any·idea.gif·that you may have and all of your time finding them smile.gif

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    Sam
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2010-05-28 19:40
    Isn't it funny in retrospect that Robert Kearns filed his patent for something as simple as intermittent windshield wipers in 1964? He sued and beat Ford & Chrysler for 10 and 30 million dollars. Not bad for a quickie gizmo with a cap, transistor and relay.

    Amazing solutions much more complex come out of these forums every day. Is there a big money idea floating around here that is "too obvious" to everyone but us?

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  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2010-05-28 20:31
    erco said...
    Amazing solutions much more complex come out of these forums every day. Is there a big money idea floating around here that is "too obvious" to everyone but us?
    Perhaps we should patent the forum?

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  • WBA ConsultingWBA Consulting Posts: 2,938
    edited 2010-05-28 20:39
    I've submitted my patent for free speech, but haven't received my patent number yet for some reason.


    IRobot2, that technology already exists, but it seems to have a glitch where it always makes the 3rd or 4th car be the first to move..........

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  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2010-05-28 21:17
    About 20 years ago I wanted to patent the concept of "capitalist exploitation of communist labor" but I think The Global Association for the Capitalist Exploitation of Communist Labor beat me to it.

    Or maybe it was Walmart.

    Or Target.

    Or Home Depot.

    Or Sears.

    Or.... or..... or...
  • skylightskylight Posts: 1,915
    edited 2010-05-28 21:23
    Apparently Toyota are installing a micro in all their new cars.........it lets the driver know when the next recall is due lol.gif
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-05-28 22:37
    I foresee a future in which the car drives itself while it is smoking a cigarette, talking on a cell phone, and applying fender polish all at the same time.
  • John AbshierJohn Abshier Posts: 1,116
    edited 2010-05-28 22:51
    What is one more? I heard/read that a luxury car has over 100 sensors and 4 networks and that the lower end is catching up.

    John Abshier
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2010-05-28 23:21
    I herd NASCAR hired Parallax to embed a COVERT BS2 with a hall-effect sensor and the ever elusive WiFi module into a gas pedal. This "GP" as rumor calls it, was to detect magnets placed under the gas pedal to fool the dyno-test after a race. The BS2 sent out info vea WiFi if a magnet was detected. The rumor also says this is how NASCAR busted Kyle Bush and his Toyota for cheating with the magnets.

    I haven't herd any comments from Parallax on this. And since it was COVERT we probably never will.


    On the IBM topic: How am I gonna keep the AC on if the motor shuts off? Whats gonna run the compressor?, I'm not gonna be hot while stuck in a traffic jam! How many starts is a starter good for?

    This might be practical for a Hy-Byrd car, But not for my hemi.

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  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2010-05-29 00:07
    The book "Automotive Electrics, Automotive Electronics" by Bosch says modern vehicles can have 24 to 80 microcontrollers.

    I know some newer vehicles have a three local area networks, one being a "fast" real-time network for the engine stuff. And then a gateway computer between the networks. These networks are called CANbus or GMLAN from General Motors vehicles.

    More...
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controller_area_network

    Automotive Electrics, Automotive Electronics...
    http://www_dot_themotorbookstore_dot_com/9780837615417.html
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  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2010-05-29 01:34
    Now Danica Patrick can blame a micro instead of her poor NASCAR crew!

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  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-05-29 02:03
    Wait a minute erco, are you saying Danica Patrick drives cars? It's totally cool that a cheesecake model can do that.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2010-05-29 02:41
    Technically, it's totally cool that a decent Indy car driver can do modeling on the side! http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009_swimsuit/models/danica-patrick

    She's tiny, I'll·find my photo with her and post.

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  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2010-05-29 04:24
    I would love a autoDriver Ina car On a freeway where there are Lanes just for ( smart-er) cars . 5 cars Locked in a train with a magnet based pickup on the fender to drive them or what not .
    I saw a history channel thing on just this in middle cali back on 04 . I never heard much after that show ..I think cal tech was doing it .



    but if they do this I want a BIG HONKING E-STOP on the dash to Kill it when I want to ..

    Peter KG6LSE

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  • MarkovMarkov Posts: 19
    edited 2010-06-05 05:13
    The IBM patent is nothing compared to OBD-3 which is already being implemented (GM's ON-Star would be an application of this--think about the implications of the commercial if you are familiar.)

    first--yes your car is full of sensors and microcontrollers. You have heard of folks having to get their computer (in their car) flashed have you not? Sometimes it gets updated as part of the service--they reflash it--used to be ultraviolet light--which is why it was called flashing and now it is more like any other programmer (relatively high voltage)--only you have to have the tool and a subscription--so it is the expensive purview largely of dealers and it you get nailed when they do it for you. There are increasingly more and more repairs that require something be reset or "married" by the "special" tool. "Married" is a term that links what you might think of as peripherals to the vehicle. Easy one is say the stereo system. thief steals it but it won't work without the required communication being established with your vehicle's computer (is the idea but of course the thief takes it to the chop shop who has access to the tool -- can make it work--remarry it). But you may not be able to replace or fix your car's stereo yourself anymore for the same reason. There are a few cars --mostly high end foreign makes--out there that have to be towed to the dealer if the battery goes dead as the reprogrammer has to be utilized to get them restarted.

    OBD (On-Board Diagnostics) came out early 90's?--OBD II sometime around say 1995--97. OBD 3 coming soon to a police state near you. OBD II is what they generally tap into with a scanner to check your emissions and is what lights up the MIL (Check Engine Soon Light --variants). You might get a tailpipe test regardless or because of the thing but it is becoming such that you will not pass emissions if there are any pending DTC's (will not illuminate the MIL on one occurence of a DTC) or the MIL is lit (two or more occurences)by one or more DTC's--the scanner will offer DTC's (Diagnostic Trouble Codes) which are like post codes--you gotta have the reading device and an interpreter--either a look-it-up book or a better scanner with these downloaded into it.

    Ever since they threw out carbs and installed fuel injection the computer has been an essential part of the operation of your car--and by computer we would mean a Master microcontroller and perhaps a slew of others, EEPROM and all that jazz. Electronic Fuel injection is touchy and requires a lot of sensor data in order to work and will work more efficiently than any carb ever could. A carb is set up as a compromise for say air temperature (intake), altitude and such--works good for dragsters which tend to run with the throttle in only one position--all the way down--and dragsters still tend to prefer Carbs as a matter of weight reduction. Efficiency itself--particularly air/fuel ratios --changes with throttle position and load -- your car utilizes a complex set of lookup tables that get compared to various sensor and positon indicator data to fine tune your car as you drive. Your car now senses not only air intake temperature but air intake flow --you can probably find these sensors just downstream of your air filter. the Mass Air Flow sensor tends to be an obvious metal slab sort of clamped into the intake line with a connector off to the side. i think all MAF's are platinum wire sensors (so i expect they are essentially hot wire anemometers?) There should be another small sensor plugged in nearby. Other easy sensors to see are your O2 (oxygen) sensors up and downstream of your Catalytic converter--if you care to crawl under the car.. Should be 3 or four of them. They act largely as feed back signals for the injection sys as far as air/fuel mixture goes (too high oxygen--means engine is running lean--and computer asks for more fuel to burn up more oxygen (efficiency) and else indicate the efficiency (remaining) of the Catalytic Converter (to do this requires temperature readings). When your car is started it will run in "open Loop" (which is to say "Rich" mechanically as the O2 sensors are inaccurate until heated up. Once they are at temp--the system shifts to closed loop and the feedback is in the circuit just like timing circuits you are familiar with that allow power and clocks to stabilize. If you have a good scanner you can watch the MAF sensor and O2 sensor data and see when and if the shift to closed loop occurs (while someone else drives.) Scanner taps into connector on drivers side below dash. There are other emissions related sensors such as EVAP Cannister (the one that will light the MIL if your gas cap doesn't fit right because you are leaking fumes) and other sensors related to operation of course. If you have an ABS scanner--assuming you aren't driving a Cash for Clunkers candidate you can read the condiiton of your brakes with that or some scanners are combo deals. All of these circuits require temperature compensation also. I couldn't even begin to guess how many temp sensiing diode thingamajigs are stuffed in the average car.

    Now OBD 3-- with OBD 3 -- eventually you may no longer have to get periodic emisions tests (if you do now). Why because they will sit on the side of the road with a little wireless device and converse with your car when it drives by and you better hope your car loves you or you'll be given a little slip that will require you to get your emissions checked and fixed (or maybe your brakes) and prevent you from driving the vehicle legally until you do--and yes--most likely a steep fine. The capability is there to do this as part of the industry standard OBD-3--it is a matter of local politics as to if and how it will be used (old cars will not be retrofitted so it will take awhile which is one covert incentive for things like On-Star. Futhermore, the police let it be known that they would like to be able to stop cars say in hot pursuits or other reasons legit and not--everyones car will be a pseudo-bait car--so OBD 3 has been designed to facilitate survelliance and control. Certanly you've heard or seen the ON-Star commercials--the car is reporting constantly its condition and location (GPS) to a central facility such that if an accident occurs (that triggers sensors--like air bag deployment) it goes ding-a-ling and the ON-Star folks send help--which isn't so bad but it doesn't take much imagination to figure out how else this information will be used and by whom.

    If you watch that Vin Diesel movie --Is it "XXX"? -- anyway there is a movie where they rip off trucks and street race. THe protagonist comes along to challenge Vin Diesel (the established local champ)--the new guy is (undrecover) BUT loaded with cash and hooks a lap top into his car to control his system tune--you can do this too for about $1,000 or find cheaper cards that either act as reprogrammers that install under the hood sort of like a daughter board or else (cheapest) hook up to the same connector under the dash that the OBD Scanner hooks up to and alter settings each time you start the car. Search E-bay and you will find all sorts of folks claiming they have a better program than stock--they generally just alter the look up tables. On rare occasions, they know what they are doing. Other than for extreme performance the only real occassion this makes sense is if you decide to pull a big load a long distance--you might plug in something to adjust the look -up tables for this condition if you don't have a tow knob as a feature of your car (if you do--know you know why its there). To really fine tune a car--it's put on a dynometer and they use a program that gives them access to these look up tables and allows them to change the values in the tables. At any rate there is a lot of programming going on in the Vin Diesel movie and in the garage these days.
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,261
    edited 2010-06-08 20:54
    I found my Danica Patrick pics I mentioned to localroger a few posts back. She came in to work·for a walk-through presentation.·Cute and tiny!·I·wore my real tie-em-up bow tie to wow her...

    She had cat-like reflexes on some of the toys we showed her.

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    640 x 480 - 43K
    640 x 480 - 49K
  • MarkovMarkov Posts: 19
    edited 2010-06-11 00:52
    who's Danica Patrick? Hard to see her with that big one up front.
    At the other end of the CAN bus several years ago we colored and styled our hair that way a few years back.
    Nothing against Danica but what Markov wants to know is, really, just who is that cute Joystick in front of her???>>>that's you Erco? if so., keep the bow and ditch the blue hat. You remind Mei of Mike Douglas (pant, pant) However, Markov already gotta guy.married 15 yrs, happy as a peach..but YOU ARE A CUTIE alright.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2010-06-11 01:07
    Cool pics erco it's so odd to find out a person from TVland like that is real and all LOL
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