1973, First Demonstration of a Digital Microprocessor (Engine) Control
The first automotive microprocessor concept demonstration, in December of 1973, was to highlight the enormous control capability that would emerge from this technology of large scale electronic circuit integration. A huge advance in control technology would lead to a number of new products over the years and lead to the redefining of GM’s component division’s products.
The Engineering Staff development vehicle, a Pontiac LeMans V8, was fitted with individual port injectors controlled by an Intel 4-bit digital microprocessor mother board using a 2k byte programmable read-only memory (PROM) for both program memory and calibration data. Individual port injectors on the V8 could be programmed to remain closed under light load so as to run the engine on fewer cylinders. Thus another first was created, the ability to schedule cylinder de-activation for fuel economy. A derivative of this cylinder control capability developed into one of the industry’s 21st century fuel economy technologies. It can be argued that this microprocessor application was a true hinge point in the history of the automobile, where the automobile would take on many new and profound directions. Few technologies have had such an overwhelming impact on today’s vehicles as the emergence of the microprocessor control. Influences include, powertrain, chassis, safety, comfort and convenience, entertainment, communications and display systems.
Today, automotive applications can embed up to four dozen microprocessors per vehicle and have megabytes, if not gigabytes, of memory. Now 35 years later, diagnostics (software and hardware) can sense over 700 individual electronic elements in some vehicles, and may send status back to the owner by e-mail.
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