Electronic control unit

About: Electronic control unit is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 8125 publications have been published within this topic receiving 48866 citations.

Experimental Security Analysis of a Modern Automobile

Abstract: Modern automobiles are no longer mere mechanical devices; they are pervasively monitored and controlled by dozens of digital computers coordinated via internal vehicular networks. While this transformation has driven major advancements in efficiency and safety, it has also introduced a range of new potential risks. In this paper we experimentally evaluate these issues on a modern automobile and demonstrate the fragility of the underlying system structure. We demonstrate that an attacker who is able to infiltrate virtually any Electronic Control Unit (ECU) can leverage this ability to completely circumvent a broad array of safety-critical systems. Over a range of experiments, both in the lab and in road tests, we demonstrate the ability to adversarially control a wide range of automotive functions and completely ignore driver input\dash including disabling the brakes, selectively braking individual wheels on demand, stopping the engine, and so on. We find that it is possible to bypass rudimentary network security protections within the car, such as maliciously bridging between our car's two internal subnets. We also present composite attacks that leverage individual weaknesses, including an attack that embeds malicious code in a car's telematics unit and that will completely erase any evidence of its presence after a crash. Looking forward, we discuss the complex challenges in addressing these vulnerabilities while considering the existing automotive ecosystem.

Method and system for engine control

Abstract: A method for comprehensive integrated control of an internal combustion engine, such as a compression-ignition engine, utilizing an electronic control module (20) is disclosed. The control strategy integrates various functions of engine control including an acceleration balance test for the engine cylinders, a fuel economy vehicle speed limit adder, a fuelling limit for high altitude vehicle operation, throttle logic, a data-hub for operation trending and vehicle component lifting analyses, a gear ratio torque limit, an air temperature based torque limit, enhanced cooling fan control, and a idle shutdown strategy based on ambient air temperature.

Method for engine control

Abstract: A method for comprehensive integrated control of a compression-ignition internal combustion engine having integral fuel pump-injectors utilizing an electronic control unit (20) is disclosed. The control strategy integrates various functions of engine control including fuel delivery (34), cooling fan control (38), engine speed governing and overspeed protection, engine braking, torque control, and vehicle speed diagnostics and control. Cooling fan control (38) is integrated with vehicle speed diagnostics and control as well as fuel delivery (34) to provide an integrated cruise control function which incorporates engine braking. The method also includes improved control over the various engine speed governors while improving idle quality by balancing the power delivered by each of the engine cylinders when at idle. The integrated torque control employs functions to reduce NOx emissions and noise utilizing adaptive fuel delivery timing and a split injection strategy.

Introduction to Internal Combustion Engines

Abstract: The Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) is the technological innovation that has changed the world. It is considered both as one of the greater sources of benefits and one of the main reasons of the atmospheric pollution. Therefore, in order to satisfy polluting emission legislations with particular attention for CO2 production, the engine design has been continuously improved and new components have been introduced, such as sensors and complete subsystems. The generation of polluting substances produced by the combustion depends not only on the engine structure, but also on the engine management system that is mainly responsible for the engine behavior, and so for the emission levels. Because of the introduction of new electronic components, which determines a strong increase of the degrees of freedom available during the engine operations, the optimization of engine behavior becomes more complex and less intuitive thus not obtaining the best performances of the system. Nowadays, the engine control system is an enormous collection of tuning tables, obtained adding the new tables related to new electronic components to the previous ones. This control structure is usually defined using trial-and-error approaches: engineers dedicated to the calibration process transform the goals, such as fuel consumption, engine emission, performances of the vehicle, and so on, in control references to be followed by some engine and vehicle variables that can be measured on-line. These goals are obtained through proper closed-loop control strategies receiving measurements by sensors and acting on actuators. In this chapter after a short description of the operating principles of reciprocating ICEs and their classification, an overview of a functional architecture of an Engine Management System (EMS) is given.

Method and apparatus for monitoring parameters of vehicle electronic control units

Abstract: A system for monitoring and the adjustment of control unit parameter settings of vehicle electronic control units (44, 45). The monitoring system may be implemented in a vehicle (12, 14) in which are incorporated one or more electronic control units (44, 45) for regulating one or more operational parameters of the vehicle (12, 14) in accordance with corresponding control unit parameter settings. In an exemplary implementation the vehicle (12, 14) is equipped with a mobile communications terminal, MCT (38), which receives from a base station (18) a list of operational parameters to be monitored. Each of the electronic control units (44, 45), as well as a memory unit (62), are connected to an internal data link (40) of the vehicle. When a parameter value within the memory unit (62) corresponding to a given electronic control unit (44, 45) is changed, a message is provided to the base station (18) specifying the value currently registered by the particular electronic control unit (44, 45). The currently registered value is then compared to an expected parameter value, and an error message is generated if disagreement exists therebetween. The system also allows vehicle electronic control unit parameter settings to be adjusted from a remote location such as a base station (18).