Electronics on wings, wheels, and waves: More speed and more safety through microprocessors, sensors, and advanced communications

By land, by air, and by sea, transportation systems are being invaded and improved by electronics as never before. Take the automobile. Systems with microcomputers are being designed to control the engine fuel pump, fuel injection, and ignition coil. Microcomputers are already offered as an option in luxury cars for the display and diagnosis of engine and vehicle parameters (see November 1978, pp. 30-35). Elsewhere a sampling of research and development projects in 1978 turns up such sophisticated equipment as this: