SEMINAR REPORT

EMBEDDED SYSTEM IN
AUTOMOBILES

BY
TOJO TOM

B.Tech in Electronics & Communication Engineering

2010-14

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRONICS & COMMUNICATION

ENGINEERING
SAINTGITS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
PATHAMUTTOM, KOTTAYAM 686532
KERALA, INDIA
 SAINTGITS COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING
KOTTAYAM
DEPARTMENT OF
ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING
2010-2014

CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that this report entitled “EMBEDDED SYSTEM IN

AUTOMOBILES” is a bonafide record of the seminar presented by
TOJO TOM, Seventh semester bearing Reg No: 10014351 towards the
partial fulfillment of the requirements for the award of B. Tech. Degree
in Electronics and Communication Engineering of Mahatma Gandhi
University during the year 2013- 2014.

Head of Department Staff Member In-Charge Seminar Guide

 ABSTRACT

There are several tasks in which real time OSs beat their desktop
counterparts hands-down. A common application of embedded systems in the real world
is in automobiles because these systems are cheap, efficient and problem free. Almost
every car that rolls off the production line these days makes use of embedded technology
in one form or the other. RTOSs are performed in this area due to their fast response
times and minimal system requirements.

Most of the embedded systems in automobiles are rugged in nature, as

most of these systems are made up of a single chip. Other factors aiding their use are the
low costs involved, ease of development, and the fact that embedded devices can be
networked to act as sub modules in a large system. No driver clashes or ‘system busy’
condition happen in these systems. Their compact profiles enable them to fit easily under
the cramped hood of a car.

Embedded systems can be used to implement features ranging from

adjustment of the suspension to suit road conditions and the octane content in the fuel to
anti lock braking systems (ABS) and security systems. Speaking of the things nearer home
the ‘computer chip’ that control fuel injections in a Hyundai Santro or the one that
controls the activation of air bag in a Fiat in a weekend in nothing but an embedded
system. Right from brakes to automatic traction control to air bags and fuel/air mixture
controls, there may be upto 30-50 embedded systems within a present-day car. And this
is just a beginning.

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

First of all, I thank God almighty for His abundant grace and mercy which enabled
me in completing my seminar successfully.

With great pleasure I would like to thank all those who have provided their
valuable time with full support for completing my seminar successfully.

I am highly grateful to Mr. M. C. Philipose, Principal, Saintgits College of

Engineering, Pathamuttom and Prof. Susan Abe, HOD, ECE Department for allowing me
to use the college facilities for completing my seminar.

I would like to give my sincere gratitude to my guide as well as seminar coordinator

Er.Shajimon K John, Asst.Prof, ECE department for her valuable guidance and
inspiration throughout the seminar. Also, I thank all the staff members of our department
for their timely help and guidance.

This acknowledgement would be incomplete without expressing my gratitude to my

parents who act as a beacon light and inspired me unconditionally and to my friends who
motivated me during the tenure of study.

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 CONTENTS

CHAPTER NO: TOPIC PAGE NO:

LIST OF FIGURE iv

1. INTRODUCTION 5

2. EMBEDDED SYSTEM IN A CAR 7

2.1 EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INSIDE A MODERN CAR 8

2.2 BLOCK DIAGRAM 8

3. ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL (ACC) 9

4. ACC WORKING PRINCIPLE 10

4.1 DOPPLER EFFECT 10

5. ACC TECHNICAL DETAILS 12

6. BEAUTY OF ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL 14

7. ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS) 15

8. ABS OPERATION 16

9. CONCLUSION 18

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 LIST OF FIGURE

FIGURE NO: TITLE PAGE NO:

2.1 EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INSIDE A MODERN CAR 8

2.2 BLOCK DIAGRAM 8

3.1 ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL 9

4.1 HIGHER PITCH SOUND 10

4.2 LOWER PITCH SOUND 10

4.3 ACC TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING RADIO

WAVES 11

5.1 TECHNOLOGY BEHIND ACC 12

6.1 BEAUTY OF ACC 14

7.1 ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM 15

8.1 ABS OPERATION 16

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

An embedded system is any device controlled by instructions stored on a

chip. These devices are usually controlled by a micro processor that executes the
instructions stored on a read only memory(ROM) chip.

The software for the embedded system is called firmware. The firmware will
be written in assembly language for time or resource critical operations or using higher
level languages like C or embedded C. The software will be simulated using micro code
simulators for the target processor. Since they are supposed to perform only specific
tasks, these programs are stored in read only memories(ROMs).Moreover they may need
no or minimal inputs from the user, hence the user interface like monitor, mouse and
large keyboard etc,may be absent.

Embedded systems are also known as real time systems since they respond to
an input or event and produce the result within a guaranteed time period. This time
period can be few microseconds to days or months. The computer system must meet
various timing and other constraints that are imposed on it by the real-time behavior of
the external world to which it is interfaced. Hence comes the name real time. Another
Name for many of these systems is reactive systems, because their primary purpose is to
respond to or react to signals from their environment. A real time computer system may
be a component of a larger system in which it is embedded; reasonably such a computer
component is called an embedded system.

Applications and examples of real time systems are ubiquitous and

proliferating, appearing as part of our commercial, government, military, medical,
educational, and cultural infrastructures. Included are:

• Vehicle systems for automobiles, subways, aircraft, railways and ships.

• Traffic control for highways, airspace, railway tracks and shipping lanes.
• Process control for power plants, chemical plants and consumer products such as
soft drinks and beer.
• Medical systems for radiation therapy, patient monitoring and defibrillation
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• Military uses such as firing weapons, tracking and command and control.
• Manufacturing systems with robots.
• Telephone, radio and satellite communications.
• Computer games.
• Multi media systems that provide text, graphic, audio and video interfaces.
• House holds systems for monitoring and controlling appliances.
• Building managers that controls such entities as heat, light, Doors and elevators.

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 CHAPTER 2

EMBEDDED SYSTEM IN A CAR

Automotive electronics are the electronics used in automobiles. This

includes body electronics, in car entertainment, carputers, chassis electronics and telematics.

Automotive electronics first began with the need for better controls of the
engine. In fact, the first electronic parts in automobiles were used to control various engine
functions and were referred to as ECUs (Engine Control Units). However, as electronic
controls began to be used for other automotive applications, the acronym ECU took on the
more general meaning of “electronic control unit”. Today, specific ECUs are generally
referred to as modules [e.g. the engine control module (ECM) or the Transmission Control
Module (TCM)]. A modern car may have up to 100 electronic control units and a commercial
vehicle up to 40.

Automotive electronics or automotive embedded systems are distributed

systems and according to different domains in the automotive field they can be classified
into:

1. Engine Electronics

2. Transmission Electronics

3. Chassis Electronics

4. Active Safety

5. Driver assistance

6. Passenger Comfort

7. Infotainment systems

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2.1 EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INSIDE A MODERN CAR

FIG 2.1: EMBEDDED SYSTEMS INSIDE A MODERN CAR

2.2 BLOCK DIAGRAM

FIG 2.2: BLOCK DIAGRAM

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 CHAPTER 3

ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL (ACC)

Embedded systems can also make driverless vehicle control a reality. Major
automobile manufacturers are already engaged in work on these concepts. One such
technology is Adaptive Cruise Control (ACC).

FIG 3.1: ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

ACC allows cars to keep safe distances from other vehicles on busy highways. The
driver can set the speed of his car and the distance between his car and others. When traffic
slows down, ACC alters vehicle speed using moderate braking. This ensures that a constant
distance is maintained between cars. As soon as traffic becomes less, ACC moves up to the
desired cruise speed that has been set by the driver. The driver can over ride the system any
time he wants to be breaking.

Each car with ACC has a micro wave radar unit or laser transceiver fixed in
front of it to determine the distance and relative speed of any vehicle in the path. The ACC
computer (What else but an embedded system or a grouped system of embedded system)
constantly controls the throttle and brakes of the car. This helps to make sure that the set
cruise speed or adapted speed of traffic at that time is not exceeded.

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 CHAPTER 4

ACC WORKING PRINCIPLE

As already mentioned each car with ACC have a micro wave radar unit fixed in
front of it to determine the distance and relative speed of any vehicle in it’s path. The
principle behind the working of this type of radar is- the Doppler Effect.

4.1 DOPPLER EFFECT

Doppler Effect is the change in frequency of the waves when there is a relative
motion between the transmitting and receiving units. The two figures below clearly show the
Doppler Effect.

High Pitch Sound

FIG 4.1: HIGHER PITCH SOUND

In this case the vehicle is speeding towards the stationary listener. The distance
between the listener and the car is decreasing. Then the listener will hear a higher pitch
sound from the car, which means the frequency of sound, is increased.

Lower Pitch Sound

FIG 4.2 : LOWER PITCH SOUND

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 In this case the vehicle is moving away from the listener. The distance between
and the car is increasing. Then the listener will hear a lower pitch sound from the car, which
means the frequency of sound, is decreased. So that is the Doppler Effect in case of sound
waves.

Similarly the radar unit in ACC will be continuously transmitting radio waves.
They will be reflected and echo singles (reflected waves) will be having the same frequency
or different frequency depending on speed/position of the object due to which the echo
singles originate. If the echoes singles have the same frequency it is clear that there is no
relative motion between the transmitting and receiving ends. If the frequency is increased it is
clear that the distance between the two is decreasing and if the frequency is decreased it
means that the distance is increasing.

The figure below shows a car having ACC transmitting and receiving radio
waves.

FIG 4.3: ACC TRANSMITTING AND RECEIVING RADIO WAVES

In the above case, the gun transmits the waves at a given frequency toward an
oncoming car. Reflecting waves return to the gun at a different frequency, depending on how
fast the car being tracked is moving. A device in the gun compares the transmission
frequency to the received frequency to determine the speed of the car. Here, the high
frequency or the reflected waves indicate the motorist in the left car is speeding.

The embedded system is connected to the radar unit and its output will be sent to breaking
and accelerating unit as early mentioned the embedded system is a device controlled by
instructions stored in a chip. So we can design the chip or ACC having an algorithm such that
it will give output only when the input signals are less than the corresponding safe distance
value. So only when the between the car and the object in front of it is less then the same
distance value the embedded system will give output to the breaking and the accelerating
units. Thus the safe distance will be kept always. That’s how the ACC works.
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 CHAPTER 5

ACC TECHNICAL DETAILS

Adaptive cruise control typically uses radar in a frequency band that doesn’t
compete with police radar and doesn’t trigger radar detectors. For full-range ACC, some
automakers use two radars — one for close range out to about 100 feet and a second that sees
out to about 600 feet, or about 6-7 seconds at highway speeds. Partial ACC is usually a single
unit, while some full-range ACC implementations are now able to use a single radar as well.

FIG 5.1: TECHNOLOGY BEHIND ACC

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 Radar-based systems employ a variety of sensing and processing methods to
determine the position and speed of the vehicle ahead. A fairly simple scheme (like the one
used by Mercedes) switches rapidly among three beams by changing feed points along the
antenna, creating a scanning effect inexpensively and with no moving parts. The beams are
wide enough to ensure that each overlaps those adjacent, providing a combined 12-degree
field of view. An advantage is that the wider beams permit the use of a smaller antenna.

More advanced and costlier sensing schemes rely on an antenna that is

mechanically scanned and that emits a narrow beam. These systems scan between 64 and 128
points in the radar's field of view, also typically 12 degrees, so that resolution is much higher
than for a three-beam system. The beams are much narrower than in the three-beam models,
however, so the antenna has to be larger. And the multiplicity of beams requires much more
processing power to handle the streams of data that pour out as the radar scans across the
multiple points of focus to determine the leading car's position and speed.

Regardless of the scanning mechanism, the radars typically operate in the

millimeter-wave region at 76-77 GHz. The automakers refused to alter the shape or
construction of their vehicles to accommodate ACC, so designers had to build systems small
enough to be mounted inside a car's front grille. That stringent size requirement in turn
demanded a compact antenna, which in turn forced the use of the high frequencies, antenna
size being inversely related to frequency. At 76-77 GHz, frequencies are high enough to work
with small antennas, yet not so high that the components are exotic and stupendously
expensive. A typical automotive radar, produced by Delphi Delco Electronics Systems, of
Kokomo, Ind., is roughly the size of two stacked paperback books--just 14 by 7 by 10 cm.

The radar and the cameras work together to track the car ahead and distinguish
it from extraneous nonmoving objects more rapidly than would be possible with either alone,
according to Keiji Fujimura, a senior manager at Fujitsu Ten. While the radar homes in on the
lead car's rear bumper, the stereo camera is constantly measuring the widths of all the items
in its wide field of view [see illustration, above ]. To calculate them, it uses an algorithm
based on the detection of vertical edges and the distance. Bridges, trees, and other stationary
objects that are much wider or narrower than a car are quickly rejected as reasons for the
system to apply the brakes. The concentration on vertical edges also helped hold down the
cost and complexity of the optical system.

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 CHAPTER 6

BEAUTY OF ADAPTIVE CRUISE CONTROL

As the driver in the next lane swerves in front of you, you feel that gas back off
and the brakes grab in the car you’ re driving- a Mercedes Benz S-class luxury vehicle, the
first passenger car equipped with a technology called adaptive cruise control. The technology
makes these adjustments even though you haven’t touched the brake or gas pedal.

At a safe distance behind, your Mercedes settles to a speed matching that of the
driver in front of you. That’s too slow, so after a look in your rear view mirror you pull into
the empty outside lane and feel the acceleration as your car speeds up to the preset cruising
speed. You still haven’t press the accelerator pedal. That’s the beauty of this racing star of the
auto industry, a millimeter- wave radar technology that promises not only to make driving
easier, but to ignite a market for gallium arsenide and other compound semi conductor
components.

Although grey hound buses and some heavy- goods vehicles have been fitted with
automotive radar systems, the Mercedes is reckoned to be the first passenger automobile to
sport this advanced use of electronics, and observers say it is likely to lead a proliferation of
the technology. The Mercedes Benz system uses a 77-GHz Doppler radar linked into the
electronic control and braking system to maintain a safe distance between a car with the
system and the vehicle in front of it. Daimler Benz Aero space has completed the design of a
hybrid 77-GHz radar, called Tempo mat, which is being considered for deployment

FIG 6.1: BEAUTY OF ACC

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 CHAPTER 7

ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM (ABS)

Anti-lock braking system (ABS) is an automobile safety system that allows

the wheels on a motor vehicle to maintain tractive contact with the road surface according to
driver inputs while braking, preventing the wheels from locking up (ceasing rotation) and
avoiding uncontrolled skidding. It is an automated system that uses the principles of threshold
braking and cadence braking which were practiced by skillful drivers with previous
generation braking systems. It does this at a much faster rate and with better control than a
driver could manage.

ABS generally offers improved vehicle control and decreases stopping

distances on dry and slippery surfaces for many drivers; however, on loose surfaces like
gravel or snow-covered pavement, ABS can significantly increase braking distance, although
still improving vehicle control.[1][2][3]

Since initial widespread use in production cars, anti-lock braking systems have
evolved considerably. Recent versions not only prevent wheel lock under braking, but also
electronically control the front-to-rear brake bias. This function, depending on its specific
capabilities and implementation, is known aselectronic brakeforce
distribution (EBD), traction control system, emergency brake assist, or electronic stability
control (ESC).

FIG 7.1: ANTILOCK BRAKING SYSTEM

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 CHAPTER 8

ABS OPERATION

FIG 8.1: ABS OPERATION

The anti-lock brake controller is also known as the CAB (Controller Anti-
lock Brake.Typically ABS includes a central electronic control unit (ECU), four wheel speed
sensors, and at least two hydraulic valves within the brake hydraulics. The ECU constantly
monitors the rotational speed of each wheel; if it detects a wheel rotating significantly slower
than the others, a condition indicative of impending wheel lock, it actuates the valves to
reduce hydraulic pressure to the brake at the affected wheel, thus reducing the braking force
on that wheel; the wheel then turns faster. Conversely, if the ECU detects a wheel turning
significantly faster than the others, brake hydraulic pressure to the wheel is increased so the
braking force is reapplied, slowing down the wheel. This process is repeated continuously
and can be detected by the driver via brake pedal pulsation. Some anti-lock systems can apply
or release braking pressure 15 times per second.[17] Because of this, the wheels of cars
equipped with ABS are practically impossible to lock even during panic braking in extreme
conditions.

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 The ECU is programmed to disregard differences in wheel rotative speed below
a critical threshold, because when the car is turning, the two wheels towards the center of the
curve turn slower than the outer two. For this same reason, a differential is used in virtually
all roadgoing vehicles.

If a fault develops in any part of the ABS, a warning light will usually be
illuminated on the vehicle instrument panel, and the ABS will be disabled until the fault is
rectified.

Modern ABS applies individual brake pressure to all four wheels through a
control system of hub-mounted sensors and a dedicated micro-controller. ABS is offered or
comes standard on most road vehicles produced today and is the foundation for electronic
stability control systems, which are rapidly increasing in popularity due to the vast reduction
in price of vehicle electronics over the years.[18]

Modern electronic stability control systems are an evolution of the ABS

concept. Here, a minimum of two additional sensors are added to help the system work: these
are a steering wheel angle sensor, and a gyroscopic sensor. The theory of operation is simple:
when the gyroscopic sensor detects that the direction taken by the car does not coincide with
what the steering wheel sensor reports, the ESC software will brake the necessary individual
wheel(s) (up to three with the most sophisticated systems), so that the vehicle goes the way
the driver intends. The steering wheel sensor also helps in the operation of Cornering Brake
Control (CBC), since this will tell the ABS that wheels on the inside of the curve should
brake more than wheels on the outside, and by how much.

ABS equipment may also be used to implement a traction control system (TCS) on
acceleration of the vehicle. If, when accelerating, the tire loses traction, the ABS controller
can detect the situation and take suitable action so that traction is regained. More
sophisticated versions of this can also control throttle levels and brakes simultaneously.

Upon the introduction of the Subaru Legacy in 1989, Subaru networked the four
channel anti-lock brake function with the all wheel drive system so that if the car detected
any wheel beginning to lock up, the variable assists the all wheel drive system installed on
vehicles with the automatic transmission would engage to ensure all wheels were actively
gripping while the anti-lock system was attempting to stop the car.

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 CHAPTER 9

CONCLUSION

There are lot of scope for the development of newer technologies in the
Automotive electronics domain. Electronic Control Units (ECU) can be designed to provide
optimum driving conditions which increases the efficiency.

Areas such as firmware, dedicated intelligence chips and ECUs are in demand in
the Automotive Electronics Industry. The recent trends in the automobile industry highlights
the scope for electronics in the industry. On an average any automobile has 50 ECUs. 13% of
manufacturing cost is for the software developed. 35% of the cost of the car comes from the
electronics involved in it. Also 80% of the automotive innovation in the recent years has been
from Automobile electronics.

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 CHAPTER 10

REFERENCE

[1]. www.spectrum.ieee.org
[2]. www.extremetech.com
[3]. www.auto.howstuffworks.com
[4]. www.wiki.fot-net.eu
[5]. www.wikipedia.com
[6]. Report of 5th Meeting of the U.S. Software System Safety Working Group April 12th
14th 2005 @ Anaheim, California USA

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