A Controller Area Network is a vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other's applications without a host computer. It is a message-based protocol, designed originally for multiplex electrical wiring within automobiles to save on copper, but it can also be used in many other contexts. For each device, the data in a frame is transmitted serially but in such a way that if more than one device transmits at the same time, the highest priority device can continue while the others back off. Frames are received by all devices, including by the transmitting device.
An automatic transmission is a multi-speed transmission used in motor vehicles that does not require any input from the driver to change forward gears under normal driving conditions. Vehicles with internal combustion engines, unlike electric vehicles, require the engine to operate in a narrow range of rates of rotation, requiring a gearbox, operated manually or automatically, to drive the wheels over a wide range of speeds.
Automotive engineering, along with aerospace engineering and naval architecture, is a branch of vehicle engineering, incorporating elements of mechanical, electrical, electronic, software, and safety engineering as applied to the design, manufacture and operation of motorcycles, automobiles, and trucks and their respective engineering subsystems. It also includes modification of vehicles. Manufacturing domain deals with the creation and assembling the whole parts of automobiles is also included in it. The automotive engineering field is research intensive and involves direct application of mathematical models and formulas. The study of automotive engineering is to design, develop, fabricate, and test vehicles or vehicle components from the concept stage to production stage. Production, development, and manufacturing are the three major functions in this field.
A traction control system (TCS), is typically a secondary function of the electronic stability control (ESC) on production motor vehicles, designed to prevent loss of traction of the driven road wheels. TCS is activated when throttle input and engine power and torque transfer are mismatched to the road surface conditions.
An electronic control unit (ECU), also known as an electronic control module (ECM), is an embedded system in automotive electronics that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a car or other motor vehicle.
A vehicle bus is a specialized internal communications network that interconnects components inside a vehicle. In electronics, a bus is simply a device that connects multiple electrical or electronic devices together. Special requirements for vehicle control such as assurance of message delivery, of non-conflicting messages, of minimum time of delivery, of low cost, and of EMF noise resilience, as well as redundant routing and other characteristics mandate the use of less common networking protocols. Protocols include Controller Area Network (CAN), Local Interconnect Network (LIN) and others. Conventional computer networking technologies are rarely used, except in aircraft, where implementations of the ARINC 664 such as the Avionics Full-Duplex Switched Ethernet are used. Aircraft that use AFDX include the B787, the A400M and the A380. Trains commonly use Ethernet Consist Network (ECN). All cars sold in the United States since 1996 are required to have an On-Board Diagnostics connector, for access to the car's electronic controllers.
ZF Friedrichshafen AG, also known as ZF Group, originally Zahnradfabrik Friedrichshafen, and commonly abbreviated to ZF, is a global technology company that supplies systems for passenger cars, commercial vehicles and industrial technology. It is headquartered in Friedrichshafen, in the south-west German state of Baden-Württemberg. Specializing in engineering, it is primarily known for its design, research and development, and manufacturing activities in the automotive industry and is one of the largest automotive suppliers in the world. Its products include driveline and chassis technology for cars and commercial vehicles, along with specialist plant equipment such as construction equipment. It is also involved in the rail, marine, defense and aviation industries, as well as general industrial applications. ZF has 168 production locations in 32 countries with approximately 165,000 (2022) employees.
Electronic throttle control (ETC), also known as e-gas or throttle by wire, is an automobile technology which electronically "connects" the accelerator pedal to the throttle, replacing a mechanical linkage. This concept is often called drive by wire, and sometimes called accelerate-by-wire or throttle-by-wire. A typical ETC system consists of three major components: (i) an accelerator pedal module, (ii) a throttle valve that can be opened and closed by an electric motor, and (iii) a powertrain or engine control module. The ECM is a type of electronic control unit (ECU), which is an embedded system that employs software to determine the required throttle position by calculations from data measured by other sensors, including the accelerator pedal position sensors, engine speed sensor, vehicle speed sensor, and cruise control switches. The electric motor is then used to open the throttle valve to the desired angle via a closed-loop control algorithm within the ECM.
The Audi RS 6 is a high-performance variant of the Audi A6 range, produced by the high-performance subsidiary company Audi Sport GmbH, for its parent company Audi AG, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, from 2002 onwards.
On-board diagnostics (OBD) is a term referring to a vehicle's self-diagnostic and reporting capability. In the United States, this self diagnostic is a requirement to comply with Federal Emissions standards to detect failures that may increase the vehicle tailpipe emissions to more than 150% of the standard to which it was originally certified.
Jetronic is a trade name of a manifold injection technology for automotive petrol engines, developed and marketed by Robert Bosch GmbH from the 1960s onwards. Bosch licensed the concept to many automobile manufacturers. There are several variations of the technology offering technological development and refinement.
Chip tuning is changing or modifying an erasable programmable read only memory chip in an automobile's or other vehicles electronic control unit to achieve superior performance, whether it be more power, cleaner emissions, or better fuel efficiency. Engine manufacturers generally use a conservative electronic control unit map to allow for individual engine variations, as well as infrequent servicing and poor-quality fuel. Vehicles with a remapped electronic control unit may be more sensitive to fuel quality and service schedules.
An engine control unit (ECU), also called an engine control module (ECM), is a device which controls multiple systems of an internal combustion engine in a single unit. Systems commonly controlled by an ECU include the fuel injection and ignition systems.
Motronic is the trade name given to a range of digital engine control units developed by Robert Bosch GmbH which combined control of fuel injection and ignition in a single unit. By controlling both major systems in a single unit, many aspects of the engine's characteristics can be improved.
A transmission control unit (TCU), also known as a transmission control module (TCM), or a gearbox control unit (GCU), is a type of automotive ECU that is used to control electronic automatic transmissions. Similar systems are used in conjunction with various semi-automatic transmissions, purely for clutch automation and actuation. A TCU in a modern automatic transmission generally uses sensors from the vehicle, as well as data provided by the engine control unit (ECU), to calculate how and when to change gears in the vehicle for optimum performance, fuel economy and shift quality.
Renix was a joint venture by Renault and Bendix that designed and manufactured automobile electronic ignitions, fuel injection systems, electronic automatic transmission controls, and various engine sensors. Major applications included various Renault and Volvo vehicles. The name became synonymous in the U.S. with the computer and fuel injection system used on the AMC/Jeep 2.5 L I4 and 4.0 L I6 engines.
Brake-by-wire technology in the automotive industry is the ability to control brakes through electronic means, without a mechanical connection that transfers force to the physical braking system from a driver input apparatus such as a pedal or lever.
Automotive electronics are electronic systems used in vehicles, including engine management, ignition, radio, carputers, telematics, in-car entertainment systems, and others. Ignition, engine and transmission electronics are also found in trucks, motorcycles, off-road vehicles, and other internal combustion powered machinery such as forklifts, tractors and excavators. Related elements for control of relevant electrical systems are also found on hybrid vehicles and electric cars.
The Ford EEC or Electronic Engine Control is a series of ECU that was designed and built by Ford Motor Company. The first system, EEC I, used processors and components developed by Toshiba in 1973. It began production in 1974, and went into mass production in 1975. It subsequently went through several model iterations.
The Modular Engine Management System, or MEMS, is an electronic control system used on engines in passenger cars built by Rover Group in the 1990s. As its name implies, it was adaptable for a variety of engine management demands, including electronically controlled carburetion as well as single- and multi-point fuel injection. The abbreviations "SPi" and "MPi" refer to the single-point and multi-point injection configurations, respectively.
