Almost everything electronically operated
in a car is now on a network. A centralized
ECU knows everything that's happening
in the vehicle, and this level of oversight
is only possible if you're putting some
intelligence out at every single one of
those nodes. The result is that every
little light bulb and every little switch in a
modern vehicle is connected directly to a
microcontroller."
Jason Layton
Senior Applications Engineer, Microchip Technology Inc.
C h a p t e r 1 | 8 - B i t f o r A u t o m o t i v e
individual modules associated with each system. This
architecture allows for decreased design complexity
and improved scalability for original equipment
manufacturers (OEMs).
Taking a closer look at this architecture, you'll find
that the modern vehicle setup consists of many
individualized subsystems, all of which are connected
and governed by larger electronic control units
(ECUs). Looking deeper into each of these modules,
you'll see that MCUs are a fundamental component
at the core of them all. Specifically, common practice
is to use MCUs as a means of controlling peripheral
functions without adding significant complexity or
overhead to the system. The result is that MCUs
are critical aspects of almost all modern automotive
systems.
While many options for MCUs to power these
modules are available, in many respects, 8-bit MCUs
are the ideal choice. Largely, 8-bit PIC & AVR MCUs
are preferred in vehicle subsystems because of their
simplicity and efficiency, which help keep the design
compact. For these reasons, you'll commonly find PIC
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The Mighty 8-Bit Microcontroller: Still Enabling Innovation in Modern Applications
