Body control electronics shapes up

The electronics revolution is advancing unabated in vehicle and body control, but the addition of features ranging from electronic power steering to tire-pressure monitoring poses numerous challenges for electronics engineers.

The list of electronic controls is expanding rapidly as designers use microprocessors and microcontrollers to improve ride performance and increase safety. The number of body control units is soaring as drivers and engineers become more comfortable with the reliability of electronic functions. Engine and transmission controls are now old hat, and many other functions are expected to fall under microprocessor control. “Just about everything in the drivetrain has some degree of electronics, and that's expanding into many other areas,” said Nick Zielinski, Director, Vehicle and Technology Integration, General Motors Corp.

He noted that GM already has begun using electric power steering having an electric motor instead of hydraulics. That is going to become far more common in the next few years. “There are a lot of things on the vehicle that are driven by hydraulics. We're looking at replacing them with by-wire and other techniques,” Zielinski said. That's creating a number of challenges for designers, who are being driven to trim costs while doing more. They're following a conventional trend: cramming more into a module by leveraging chip-manufacturing techniques that make it possible to put more onto a single semiconductor.