The introduction of electronics was not totally evolutionary; it was in some regards revolutionary because it came to involve all the vehicle subsystems in a very short time.

By 1996, some 93 percent of those applications had become a reality. In addition, many others had appeared that the engineers involved in the original 1974 forecast couldn't possibly have imagined. Applications such as heads-up displays, voice synthesis/voice recognition, four-wheel steering, traction control, electrical load management, backup warning, heated windshield and electronically tuned manifolds were new to the market. Before the 1970s electronic applications had been a small fraction of the electronics adoptions in automobiles.

Next-generation vehicle communication systems will add complexity such as e-mail and fax, thereby requiring new dashboard interfaces.

Electronics in the post-World War II time frame encompasses four evolutionary phases marked by the evolution of component technology. The first phase of development spotlights discrete components like diodes (a two-terminal electrical device that acts like a check valve to the flow of current) and transistors (three-terminal devices that act as current valves). Analog ICs were developed for applications in the 1960s and digital ICs in the following decade. Those electronic devices made the solid-state radio, the digital clock and electronic ignition possible.

The clock, alternator and ignition are three examples of functions that were "electronified" because of reliability problems with pre-electronic counterparts. If you look back before the advent of electronic ignition, every 10,000 miles the ignition points had to be replaced. Usually at 8,000 miles, the points started to degrade and fuel economy and performance suffered. Electronic ignition was a big reliability breakthrough.

By the end of the 1970s digital ICs, offering immense functional capacity, overtook the temperature and environmentally sensitive analog versions. Then, in 1980 the next evolution started with the progression from 4- and 8-bit to 16-bit microprocessors. As the operational core of a microcomputer, microprocessors set the stage for such vehicle improvements as electronic engine controls, trip computers, antilock braking, hard-soft suspension and electronic climate control. Compared with the earliest microprocessors used in vehicles, today a considerably downsized packaged contains about 25 times more functional capability.

Another significant area affecting the application of electronics was the development of smart sensors during the 1990s. This has enabled the design of subsystems like integrated power train traction control, onboard diagnostics, navigation and integrated electronic braking, steering and suspension. The automotive industry started to get smart about the need for the optimal design of the total system in the 1990s. Designers now understand that they have to look at the total vehicle and environment-not just little pieces of the vehicle-to understand how to optimize the electronics that go into that vehicle.

The next phase for automotive electronics includes the introduction of 42-volt system architectures, 32-bit microprocessors, standardized multiplexing, microwave communications, micromachined advanced sensors packaged with microelectromechanical systems, brake-by-wire and throttle-by-wire.

A major influence on electronics usage will be the future government mandates relating to vehicle safety, fuel economy and emissions reduction. A program called Partnership for Next Generation Vehicles (PNGV), which was instituted in 1994, is a prime example of the government and the private sector working together to develop the technology for future vehicles. In this case efforts are being made to develop five-passenger cars that can achieve 80 miles per gallon. Electronics will play a major part in achieving this challenging goal.

PNGV concept vehicles utilize a hybrid small internal combustion engine along with new and more efficient batteries and an electric motor. New, unique sensors are being developed along with sophisticated electronics to manage the power. New vehicle subsystem designs are required to improve power-utilization efficiency. The concept vehicles were shown to the general public early this year. Production PNGV prototypes from Ford, General Motors and DaimlerChrysler are slated for 2004. Electronics will be the technology key to successfully achieve the objectives. Cost will be the major barrier to success.

Technologies that will make intelligent transportation systems a reality rely heavily on electronics. The technology for safer highways that can handle more vehicles is here today, but the problem is getting an infrastructure design that is practical and that has agreement from all the concerned parties. Smart highways have a direct connection with electronic collision-avoidance systems, which warn the driver about other vehicles slowing down or entering his or her lane. Those systems are appearing in European vehicles today. That technology will swing the emphasis on vehicle safety from surviving an accident to being able to avoid it. Night-vision enhancement, which is already on a Cadillac passenger car, will be an important part of those efforts.

Achieving intelligent transportation's full potential may take years. Some day we're going to have the car that drives itself, and that car will be in a managed infrastructure. Cities will have corridors leading from a local area to a major expressway; the individual will drive to the expressway, and from that point on the vehicle will be 100 percent under the control of a network heavily dependent on electronics.

No links

In the past decades, electronics for vehicle communications and information subsystems did not link with the outside world, other than via a few mobile telephones. Today, in ever increasing numbers, vehicles achieve cellular phone, navigation guidance, emergency communications and many other information-transfer functions through radio-frequency and microwave connections, using a network of fixed antennas or satellite links. The next generation of vehicle communication systems will add considerable complexity and include things like e-mail and fax capabilities, so this is a fertile area for development. The automotive OEMs and suppliers, along with universities and research institutes, are at the forefront of electronics R & D that will further improve and revolutionize the way in which we engineer and use our vehicles.

As with the electronics applications explosion in the 1980s and 1990s, the next two decades promise to be equal, if not more significant, in the utilization of electronics to improve transportation efficiency and to reduce the depletion rate of the world's fossil fuels. The automotive industry is intensively looking at new energy sources like fuel cells, which will reduce the depletion rate of the world's petroleum resources. Safety will receive added emphasis both in the accident avoidance and crash worthiness of vehicles. New technology will be realized to make vehicles capable of handling information in real-time.