Mobile Mobile Networks – Part 1
What you need is a reboot! Mobile networks on the move
Many years ago I remember reading a rather funny comparison between cars and computers. There were many points but the one I remembered was:
- If cars were like computers you would be happily driving along the motorway and your car would suddenly stop for no apparent reason. The only way to get the car moving again would be to close all of the windows, switch off the ignition, restart the car, reopen all the windows before you could continue.
At the time the thought of having to ‘reboot’ your car to continue on your journey seemed really far-fetched but some years later this comparison rang very true with me on a larger scale. I was travelling to Warrington on a very sick Virgin High-Speed train. It was struggling to maintain a top speed of 40mph. A short time into the journey the driver made an announcement to apologise for the delay. He then said that he intended to make an unscheduled stop at Milton Keynes to reboot the engine. I guessed we had to be at a station in the event of the reboot failing altogether leaving us stranded. Lucky for us the reboot worked and we continued on to our destination at full speed.
“He then said that he intended to make an unscheduled stop at Milton Keynes to reboot the [Virgin High-Speed train] engine.”
Shortly after the ‘Virgin’ incident I suffered a very similar experience this time with my previous car. The engine management system detected what it thought was a problem with the engine and put my car into ‘get you home’ mode. I was restricted to 40mph and drove all the way from the Lake District to South East London on a Friday afternoon through Friday night and into early Saturday morning. Unfortunately, a ‘reboot’ did not solve this problem. The problem was a software bug in the exhaust monitoring sensor causing the engine management system to take precautionary measures. The engine was perfect. Very frustrating!
As recent as a few months ago and less than a week after a major service an alert appeared on the dashboard of my Jeep. The alert indicated a fault with the four wheel drive system. A few hours before I had successfully used the low gear ratio feature to get out of a mud bath. But I was half way through an 80 mile motorway journey when the alert popped up. I pulled into services to refuel and when I restarted the alert disappeared and hasn’t reappeared since. Seemingly, a ‘reboot’ solved the problem.
So when I received the invitation to my Livery Company’s Brown Bag Lunch presentation on automotive technology by industry expert John Stenlake, I booked my place immediately. John is CTO of Living PlanIT but prior to joining Living PlanIT, John worked for Microsoft Corporation as the Director of Technology Strategy for the Automotive Vertical worldwide and prior to that he was with Ford Motor Company both in Europe and in the US. Following an introduction by the organiser – David Berry of Charles Russell Speechlys – John opened his fascinating talk on automotive technology.
“Many of us just don’t realise how much we depend on software every time we get in our cars.”
The cars we drive today are totally dependent on IT to function. Engine management systems, exhaust emission monitoring and control, safety systems, tyre pressure monitors – the more advanced the vehicle, the more IT is involved. Many of us just don’t realise how much we depend on software every time we get in our cars.
I was fascinated to hear that in the early days of using IT in automotive technology Ford had a DEC PDP8 in the boot of a car just to manage one process. But where the presentation really got interesting for me was around the potential use of telemetry and remote vehicle monitoring and control.
Radio telemetry systems have been around for many years in a wide range of applications including manufacturing and vehicle systems, including Formula One. Many of the North Sea systems I worked on in the 1980s were narrowband radio telemetry systems communicating via microwave or tropospheric scatter.
“…an issue with the vehicle could automatically result in an appointment being made with the nearest dealer on route and the directions automatically popping up on the integral vehicle GPS screen.”
In my own experience I have seen vehicle telemetry used to great effect providing valuable information on engine state, fuel, braking systems, tyre condition and any other aspect that can be monitored with a sensor. Formula One racing cars depend on telemetry to maintain constant communication with the engineering team ensuring the driver knows exactly when to make a pit stop. Formula One technology leads onto many road vehicle enhancements and it is conceivable that with full integration and remote telemetry, an issue with the vehicle could automatically result in an appointment being made with the nearest dealer on route and the directions automatically popping up on the integral vehicle GPS screen. I can see this adding incredible value to a new car.
Mobile technology has the capability to revolutionise vehicle safety. Vehicles heading towards a major road incident in poor visibility could be given and early warning through the driver information system and in extreme circumstances the brakes could be applied automatically preventing any further collisions. For this to be really effective the technology would need to be in common use.
Maybe that is not such a long way off in Europe. The European Parliament voted to make automatic emergency call technology – eCall – a standard feature in all new cars and light commercial vehicles by the end of March 2018.
The equipment calls the emergency services automatically in the event of an accident. This will have a significant impact on the ability of the emergency services to save lives especially in rural areas.
“Surely it would be better to prevent accidents rather than just report accidents?”
One of the conditions of the eCall legislation is that any data gathered by the eCall system cannot be passed to third parties without consent. But, it is feasible that this equipment could be used to further enhance driver and passenger safety.
European Parliament legislation would certainly ensure the majority of vehicles on the road were enabled with the technology for advanced safety systems. Surely it would be better to prevent accidents rather than just report accidents?
John made the point that telemetry and safety systems are likely to have different legislative requirements for each country. Some countries will stipulate separate systems for safety and telemetry while other countries will be less restrictive and allow dual functionality. This also leads on to two other very important factors around vehicle design: weight and cost. Additional radios and antenna systems will add weight and cost to the final build. Even at a few pounds in weight and a few hundred pounds in money (for each radio system) it could be the difference between success and failure when the vehicle goes to market.
Part two will be posted in the next day or two.