Electronic Control Unit

‘ECU’ is a Three Letter Answer for all the Innovative Features in Your Car: Know How the Story Unfolded Automobiles were seen as mechanical machines until the introduction of Electronics in Automotive Industry. Every component starting from engine to window, steering, brake was a mechanical component working on gears and principles of mechanics. The mechanical systems had inherent limitations and limited accuracy, which not only caused undetected failures, but also pose life threats to the consumers. These limitations meant that there was a lot of scope for innovation in automotive sector. This eventually led to the widespread introduction of electronics across components and systems within an automobile. In 1970, Automotive Electronic Control Units (ECUs)was introduced in the automotive industry and since then, it has played a fundamental role in evolution of Automobiles from being a completely mechanical to being an electronics dominant device. Modern day cars have over hundred in -built or installed ECUs in them. Luxury cars like BMW 7-series models have as many as 150 Automotive ECUs to control and regulate the functions of the car.

Understanding the Functional Difference between Mechanical and Electronics based control units:

Source: Eaton The automotive ECU can be subdivided into three major categories, 

Power train Control Module

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Body Control Unit

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Chassis System.

Let us consider Engine control unit which is a part of the Power train Control Module (PCM). In modern vehicles, the basic working principle of engine operation is still based on combustion, only difference is that the process is now controlled by the ECU. The engine ECU controls the opening and closing of the input/output valve, by taking input from the accelerator of pedal of the vehicle. The engine ECU is also responsible for the clockwork of the amount of fuel injection and spark ignition. In this way, the Engine ECU results in acc urate synchronization, rendering more power, efficiency and highly functional engines, to the vehicles. In this way, ECU controlled vehicles are able to deliver higher efficiency as compared to mechanical automobiles.

Factors that led the Automotive OEMs’ to move from Mechanical to Electronic Control Units: The paradigm shift of Automobiles from a mechanical machine to electronic system has paved the way for innovations like power steering, cruise control, infotainment, HUD, in-car connectivity and mobility. In modern connected cars, Automotive ECUs along with LiDAR sensor technology are eventually making a self -driving autonomous car a reality. So while in the hindsight, it is a no -brainer to conclude that the electronics in automotive has indeed led to favourable results. But it would also be interesting to look at the factors that stood out as the factors driving this change in automotive industry

Source: Chip Estimate blog

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Driver and pedestrian safety:

Mitigation of driver distraction to ensure safety for both drivers and pedestrians has always been the top priority for Automotive OEMs’ and Government Regulators. Some of the OEMs’ like Volvo have also officially announced their ambitions to reduce the fatality rate due to vehicles to zero by 2020. The automotive OEMs’ and Suppliers are able to walk the talk due to the capabilities of the electronics based control units within the vehicle. Automotive ECUs along with image processing algorithms, sensors and camera support a number of Advanced Driver Assis tance Systems (ADAS) like adaptive cruise control, driver drowsiness detection, lane departure warning, forward collision alert, pedestrian detection and more This has been one of the major driving factors as any compromise with safety would have direct impact on the very existence of automobiles as the mode of transport.

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Need for compliance with government regulations:

Government regulatory bodies are one of the key stakeholders of the automotive industry ecosystem As an Automotive OEM and /or a Supplier, it is mandatory to comply with such region specific regulations and norms pertaining to emissions, energy consumption, safety and emergency responses and more Implementing such mandates without the use of Electronic Control Units and software algorithms would have been a mission impossible. On the other end, due to emergence of electronic based automation and connectivity with road infrastructure, the regulators are also able to keep the malpractices in check and respond in a better way, to emerge ncy situations. For an instance, to keep in check the frequency of road accidents due to fleet trucks and also to ensure adherence to the HOS (hours of service) policy, the U.S. Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) has issued an ELD mandate. All the fleet companies have to comply with the mandate by December 2017 by installing Electronic Logging Device (ELD) in their trucks. 

Car or a mobile device on wheels :

In the last decade, since the advent of mobile phones, it became pertinent for car makers to introduce connectivity and more electronics within the car The generation obsessed with smart devices, web connectivity, ease of navigation, social media and consumption of information on the go, meant that car had to slowly transform into a consu mer electronics device. Global OEMs’ and Suppliers have been able to respond to such a change in customer preference by allowing the explosion of electronics to bolster in -car mobility and connectivity. Investments in R&D and in-vehicle infrastructure ensured that ECUs’ and in-vehicle networks (FlexRay BUS) support multimedia systems like Infotainment and HUD (Head-up Display) These along with Telematics applications have opened up a Pandora box of new revenue opportunities for OEMs’, through value -add after-sales service and remote diagnostics and maintenance support