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by Michael Tan, Singapore

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Microsoft at the heart of Formula 1: The Engine Control Unit (ECU)

Feb 22, 2008 14:14

There's a running joke, true or false, of Bill Gates commenting on the automobile industry in 1999:

At the world's biggest (then) computer expo in 1999, Bill Gates reportedly compared the computer industry with the auto industry and said: "If GM had kept up with technology like the computer industry has, we would all be driving US$25 cars that got 1,000 miles to the gallon."

Reportedly, GM countered that statement by knocking Microsoft's user interface niggles and unreliability of Windows with statements like: "If GM made cars like Microsoft made their software, the airbag would ask, 'Are you sure?' before going off."

Well, I don't know how much Microsoft is charging Formula 1 for a piece of software that controls the engine in the Grand Prix event. In case you haven't heard, Microsoft will supply software for the standardized Engine Control Unit in Formula 1, to be used in all Formula 1 cars for the 2008 season. A most complex piece of code, controlling every aspect of the car's engine behavior including the sequence and timing of the spark plugs, getting information from hundreds of sensors all over the car to decide the engine's running speed, etc., Microsoft should have been able to give it to Formula 1 for free.

Maybe, because it's 2008 now, and not 1999 when Microsoft would have PAID Formula 1 to use the software.

We don't know whether the cars would crash twice before the end of the race, or whether the oil, alternator or water temperature warning lights would be replaced with a generic Blue Screen of Death, or auto update itself in the middle of the race requiring a reboot mid race while all the spectators twiddle their thumbs ...

But if the cars do, indeed, have problems because of the ECU, which is DEFINITELY going to happen, we'd know that GM was at least partially right.

This alone makes me pee in anticipation of the 2008 season's start of Formula 1. The possibilities for humour are endless... imagine the anxiety of the drivers just minutes before the race when the mechanics using Microsoft Vista laptops keep on cursing that their notebook computers crashed...

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ferdiei

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ferdiei says...
joke all you want...since the software would control only the ECU, most probably the software in it is resident in a non-volatile type of RAM or a firmware wherein the codes are embedded instead of regularly being updated. of course you cannot compare the intended scope of an OS in a PC environment to an automotive application where people's live's are at stake i.e. like in medical device usage. anyway, because of Microsoft's reputation they become a subject of ridicule even in the auto industry.

Feb 22, 2008 20:38

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michaeltan

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michaeltan says...
non volatile or whatever, sucky code will be sucky code. Let's see the Australia race.... Microsoft will unfortunately have to eat shit and die if all the cars stall at the starting line.

Mar 03, 2008 15:52

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ferdiei

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ferdiei says...
your suspicion is soon to be confirmed: a writeup from Ferrari as they are investigating the cause of their race failure in Melbourne. but the question is, why Mclaren not affected at all as they both use the same, or was it a sabotage since it was sourced from Mclaren(?)

full script here-
With Ferrari-McLaren relations at an all time low, paddock gossip is inevitably doing the rounds that Ferrari is now unhappier than ever about tackling this season and beyond with the new McLaren-developed control electronics.
Following the investigation back at Maranello this week into Ferrari's two failed race engines in Australia, speculation suggests that the Italian team has found that the design of the team's V8 power plant itself was not responsible for the problems.
It is similarly being reported that Ferrari thinks the fuel pressure problem that stranded Kimi Raikkonen down the Melbourne grid last Saturday is also related to the McLaren ECU.
"This kind of thing can happen when you are working with one procedure that you do not know so well.
Now we know that there is a conflict we can make sure it does not happen again," a team spokesman told GP Week.
Team boss Stefano Domenicali, meanwhile, also suggested that Ferrari's Albert Park dramas could be related to the new ECU, which is developed jointly by Woking based McLaren Electronic Systems and Microsoft, and awarded the tender to equip all F1 cars until 2010 by the FIA.
Domenicali said of the system: "We must still discover it in full."
Source: GMM
Ã‚Â© CAPSIS International

Mar 19, 2008 21:48

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Hillary

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Hillary says...
thanks for the visual reference --> pee in anticipation

Mar 19, 2008 23:01

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About Michael Tan

Michael Tan is lucky enough not to have to choose between his job and his passion. He is the responsible for all aspects of developing new businesses and sourcing new productlines for a regional IT distribution company. He also oversees the company's legal affairs as General Counsel. In real life, he is a technology enthusiast, from both the fun and business viewpoint. The only choices he has to make are whether to play with his astro telescopes, his PC games, his Wii console, hit the track, tweak his car, or refine his biofilters, post his blogs, research for a new digicam, scour every forum to feed his habit further, play with his son… You can reach Michael at michaeltanyk@gmail.com ALL BLOGPOSTS ONLY REFLECT MICHAEL'S OPINIONS AND NOBODY ELSES'.