Automotive Control Systems: For Engine, Driveline, and Vehicle

Many engineers, working in the field of automotive control systems and mechatronics, as well as lecturing at technical universities, will welcome this book. It gives a broad insight view of the latest automotive technologies in use which have been adopted over a long period of time from research activities at universities and in industry. About twenty years ago the microcomputer started to revolutionize the possibility of introducing intelligence in systems, for example in the form of advanced control algorithms. By chance, this incredible evolution coincided with increasing environmental demands to reduce pollution and oil consumption and to contribute one of the major tools to meet those demands. This may have been one of the reasons why the automotive industry was rather early in introducing the new technique. However, it would have been interesting if the book had given a short historic review. In fact the authors do not rule out that the modern four-stroke engine in a car may work as an air-cleaning filter, and after going through the part describing the lambda-control together with the catalytic conversion, it is hard to argue against it, at least when the vehicle is running at constant speed. Reading this book you realize that the times are long gone when you could use a screwdriver and feeler gauge to adjust the ignition of your car engine.