You’re driving along in your new sports car, cruising up the coast and listening to your CD player. “How I love digital signal processing,” you think to yourself as you crank up your favorite tune. What you may not realize is that digital signal processing is doing a lot more in your car than just playing music. That smooth-sounding hum from your engine is enabled by a range of sophisticated algorithms that are responsible for everything from knock detection to managing engine air flow. The solid feel of your steering wheel is courtesy of a DSP-controlled electric motor. The cruise control system is using radar to help you maintain a safe distance from the car in front of you. If you have to make a sudden maneuver, the electronic stability control will help prevent you from rolling over. And if you do lose control of your car, the air bag occupant detection system may prevent this road trip from being your last.
The list of automotive applications that are powered by digital signal processing doesn’t end inside the car. When you take your car to the service station to get its wheels aligned, you may find that the alignment system uses DSP. Remote diagnostics systems use DSP, too. And signal processing is increasingly being used to detect vehicles at intersections and control traffic flow.
Processors have become so cheap and fast that it's possible to use them for a huge variety of automotive applications. Many of these applications rely on digital signal processing because DSP is typically faster, more accurate, and more space-efficient than analog processing—assuming that analog components can do the job at all.
As a result, automakers are increasingly turning to digital signal processing to meet a range of market demands—there are dozens of microprocessors in your average new car. Stringent government emissions standards have pushed automakers to use digital signal processing DSP to fine-tune engine performance. Consumer demand for increased safety has lead to the development of DSP-enhanced braking, air bag, and collision avoidance systems. And congested roadways have motivated heavy government investment in intelligent transportation systems, which rely on signal processing to track and manage traffic flow.
Clearly, digital signal processing has become a key enabling technology in automotive applications. And cars of the future will include even more signal processing capabilities—as we’ll discuss, there’s no shortage of applications under development.
In the (September 2004) issue of InsideDSP we explore current and emerging automotive DSP applications. We take a critical look at the processors used in these applications, including general-purpose microprocessors, DSPs, and FPGAs. We also examine the business aspects of signal-processing-based automotive applications, and hear from an expert on the future of self-driving cars. Finally, we delve into the specialized requirements of automotive systems, such as the ability to perform reliably in harsh environments.
Whether you’re developing a new DSP-enabled automotive application or just want to understand the technology in your car, we’ve got the insight and analysis you need. So hop in.
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