This is the reason why I will never use a car autopilot, when they become available. The software is too stupid, brittle, and easily caught in esoteric edge cases to trust my safety to. I may not have the choice if my flight is on an Airbus, but I can draw the line at my own ride.
My car seemed to behave itself for about two blocks, and then completely stopped responding to input. For five terrifying seconds, I was trapped on the train tracks idling forward at 2kph wondering if I would regain control in time to avoid becoming street pizza.
A few moments of adrenaline later and the car picked right back up, giving me enough oomph to pull into the nearest parking lot. After my nerves had calmed down I finished the journey to the dealership; the car naturally behaved perfectly fine as soon as I pulled onto the lot.
...
The mechanic ran a pile of diagnostics and came back to me with results that shocked me - the problem was, more or less, a computer error.
And this isn't just the usual Luddite carping you've all come to expect; this is my considered opinion as someone who has spent his career in a field (Internet Security) that wouldn't even exist without a bumper crop of computer bugs, refreshed with each new product release. If people were better at designing programs, I'd have a different job.
Business is good.
So if your car suddenly starts acting funny, my advice as Ashok the Tech Support droid is to pull over and reboot. Depending on your car's Operating System, of course.*
* You know, the System you are Operating.
7 comments:
I have had some moments when my car has behaved bizarrely that seems a border condition.
When the "automatic choke" (or whatever they call it today) is shutting off and the idle is dropping, if I try to accelerate, it can buck like crazy. Sometimes. I immediately thought "computer problem" and just a quickly thought an auto tech would never find it.
I drive a stick shift and the idle surging is plain as day when the clutch is depressed. When it's operating against a load, just rolling at idle, it doesn't surge.
The last 24 years of my life have been spent writing software for automotive embedded systems (engine controllers, airbag controllers, ABS, etc), and I'm inclined to agree with you. I wonder how much time automotive technicians actually spend debugging problems; I think more often than not they just wind up swapping out electronics packages until the problem goes away. Over the last 10 years or so systems have become very inter-connected, with one module getting some of its inputs from other modules over one or more communications "buses". When the comm bus takes a dump, or a strategic module goes t#ts up, it's a domino effect. Military and medical stuff are held to a higher standard. They're more expensive and can spend more time specifying the system and wringing out bugs (at least that's my perception - maybe SiGraybeard can comment on that). Automotive suppliers usually don't get the info they need to bulletproof their systems, the time to do proper software design, the time to test in system (with all the other control units) to the degree that we should, or the manpower we need to do the job well. Our prices get screwed down so hard by the OEMs (GM/Ford/Chry/Toy...) I'm amazed we make any money. Sometimes when we present a solution to an OEM, our designs are shopped to other suppliers for a lower price. What I find really disgusting is the overcomplication of these automotive electronics for no good reason (the Germans are far and away the worst). Some days I'm amazed this stuff works at all. I will say Japanese OEMs have their act together more than US or European companies. From what I've seen they focus much harder on quality and won't hesitate too long to dump you if you screw them over with warranty issues. Sorry for this long winded rant...maybe I long for the days of carbs and manual windows and door locks.
When it comes to aircraft there is always a choice. I will not fly on an airbus aircraft.
To reboot your operating disconnect the battery for a few minutes. However one bad sensor and it still won't work. a sensor costs about $12 the time to get the mechanic to replace it is about $300.
Anon: Doesn't surprise me. The Germans invented the CAN bus abortion that all cars use now. When someone pokes holes in a design, the solution seems to be to make things more complicated to fix the hole. There is more chance of failure in complexity than simplicity.
Well, it is a computer after all. Just like a PC, occasionally it is necessary to reset it to the default settings. Autopilot in a car? No freaking way. The automakers can't even produce a cruise control that doesn't "floor it" to maintain speed on an uphill climb.
oh, and on the surging idle comment above, more often than not it is the idle air control valve going south.
Sometimes it is just overheating. Temperature is the worst enemy of electronic devices in cars. When we "reboot" and wait system is not magically being repared, it is simply getting cooled down
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