Academic level Undergrad. (yrs 1-2) Discipline Engineering Document type Research Paper

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How Microprocessors Have Changed Cars
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How Microprocessors Have Changed Cars
The development of cars dates back to the early 17th century, when the first steam-
powered vehicle was established. The steam-powered cars took a lot of time before starting, and
their range was also limited. A vehicle is composed of dozen of diverse technologies, everything
from the tires to the engine. The evolution of vehicles has grown with time from the complexity
and difficulty in shifting the gear to microprocessors' modern application that ensures ease in
cars' operation. The cars are composed of various features that function to ensure efficiency and
proper operation of the automobiles. The gap between automobiles and computers has continued
to narrow as technology has continued to advance. The paper focuses on the changes established
by microprocessors on cars.
The microprocessors were introduced to automobile electronics in the mid-1970 and
grew rapidly by the 1980s. Automobile designers and manufacturers of semiconductors worked
together to solve the underlying challenges that resulted from automobile operations. The first
electronic control units (ECUs) that showed up in Ford vehicles in the mid-1970s were able to
handle essential functions such as shifting transmission and ignition timing in response to
emission regulations and the tight economy on vehicle fuel (Furber, 2017). The introduction of
engine management systems was more sophisticated and thus allowed more reliable methods for
electronic fuel injection. The ECUs were vital to the advent of active safety systems such as skid
and traction-control and anti-lock braking. The microprocessors in the cars are meant to ensure
safety and a high-reliability level in the cars' overall operation. The engine control modules help

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control the vehicle's drivability and the car's engine's performance, where the sensors in the
engine of the car relay information to the ECM.
The radio in the cars communicates to the transmission automatically over an in-car
connection. Therefore, the volume of the radio is automatically adjusted to the noise on the
roads. In case of an accident, the car can call for emergency aid to send the spot's GPS
coordinates and flashes the car's lights (Nice, n.d). This is achieved by networking the airbag
accelerator, GPS navigator, and the door's locks. The control module in the cars helps to monitor
the engine's emission and adjust the engine to set emissions as low as possible (Nice, n.d). This
ensures environmental sustainability and reduces the number of emissions harmful to the
atmosphere. The microprocessor in the car receives information from different sensors such as
the knock and oxygen sensors, enabling regulation of different car systems. The transmission
offers a clue to the side mirrors such that when the driver makes a shift to the reverse, the mirrors
can bend inward, offering a better view of what the driver is looking behind. The microprocessor
has made cars to be more reliable, clean, safe, and more efficient.

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Fig 1: Process flow for remote control
Before the microprocessors, the car was operated through a complex mechanical system
where the ignition timing was controlled via mechanical springs. As the engine turned faster, the
spring would extend due to an increase in inertia, thus advancing the ignition timing, and the
whole assembly was geared and timed to run in sync. Fueling was done through a carburetor,
where the engine's vacuum would draw in a set amount of fuel and air. The adjustments were
made by physically changing parameters such as orifice diameters to have the engine's desired
fuel.
A complete vehicle control system is composed of a single ECU that helps control a car's
different aspects. However, in practice, the different vehicle ECUs that directs communication to
each other for an efficient operation of the car. When one of the systems operates independently,

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they may fail to act to some extent in the best way in respect to the other. The quantity of fuel
may be set, and the fuel's ECU may decide to change down a gear, increasing the engine's speed.
This will require a change in timing and fuel, which poses a potential for rising emissions and
decreasing efficiency. The ECU in the cars uses closed-loop control, which monitors the
system's output to control the input (Nice, n.d). This helps in managing the emission and fuel the
engine's economy. The ECU gathers information from different sensors, and it can determine the
amount of oxygen in the exhauster and other vital details of the car's operation. The engines with
electric fuel injection (EFI) have an exhaust gas oxygen sensor, which can tell the ECU whether
the engine is getting the right proportion of fuel mixture or not.
Fig: 2 System block diagram
The car's engine as output is an air pump that sucks in air and fuel. The air then gets
pressurized and undergoes a controlled explosion from the combustion process. It then pushes air

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out through the exhaust system, creating power routed out to the drivetrain. The input is the
chemical energy in the form of fuel. The car's engine transforms the energy to kinetic energy
allowing the piston to rise and fall for action.
The microprocessor has played a vital role in ensuring reliability and efficiency in-car
operation. They help coordinate sensors, brakes, and the car's steering systems where their inputs
are filtered through the emergency control units (Nice, n.d). Through the digital signal processor
(DSP), the road noise has been reduced by detecting sound waves and offsetting sound
production that can cancel the road noises. Airbags have been efficient and standard features for
efficiency in the cars; however, they were once considered luxury forms. However, some areas
that need improvement to increase safety and efficiency. Thieves have used the door lock
command in taking network control of the car. By breaking the mirror, they can acquire complete
control, and therefore the actions have been rampant. There is, therefore, a need to improve the
functional features of this command. There is a need to create rearview mirrors with image
recognition capacity that can sense impending rear-end collision. The development will not only
improve the car efficiency but will also improve the safety of the car.
The research work conducted on this work was general, where I searched for the
operation of changes that have resulted from microprocessor application in cars. Through the
search, I obtained various websites that contained helpful information from different authors. I
also utilized google scholar to get updated information on the subject. I, therefore, obtained
different peer-reviewed journals and research that students and institutions conducted. Since
technology advances and changes with time, I was keen to obtain information from articles that

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were no older than five years. Books were not used since it was not easy to access information
on the subject in them.
References
(Fig: 1)
Clarkeminusthee (n.d). RC Car Control Flow. https://creately.com/diagram/example/ibux94tq/
RC%20Car%20control%20flow
(Fig: 2)
Cone, R., Cundiff, E (2019). System Level Block Diagram for Autonomous Vehicle. https://
www.yumpu.com/en/document/read/18720034/system-level-block-diagram-for-
autonomous-vehicle

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Furber, S. (2017). Microprocessors: the engines of the digital age. Proceedings of the Royal
Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, 473(2199), 20160893.
Nice, K. (n.d). How Car Computers Work. https://auto.howstuffworks.com/under-the-hood/
trends-innovations/car-computer1.htm