{"id":2401,"date":"2015-06-16T12:24:20","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T12:24:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?p=2401"},"modified":"2015-06-16T12:24:20","modified_gmt":"2015-06-16T12:24:20","slug":"electronic-transmission-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?p=2401","title":{"rendered":"Electronic transmission control"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>\u00a050 years of automatics: how Bosch taught the car to change gear itself<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<ul>\n<li>In 1965, Bosch developed the first electronic control for manual transmissions<\/li>\n<li>Motronic made the breakthrough of automatic transmissions possible<\/li>\n<li>Modern transmission control: high-performance computer in miniature<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Fifty years ago, the first Bosch prototype featuring electronic transmission control made its maiden journey. The gearshift of the Glas 1700 \u2013 a modern mid-range sedan \u2013 moved as if by magic. The engineers used the car as a test vehicle for a\u00a0completely new type of system. Their hope was that electronic control for manual transmissions would relieve drivers of the need to depress the clutch and shift gears by hand. The technology was developed under the leadership of the young engineer Hermann Scholl, who is now the honorary chairman of the Bosch Group. It was designed to be an affordable alternative to expensive automatic transmissions, which back then were offered almost exclusively in luxury sedans. Several hundred systems were manufactured for the Glas 1700 in 1965. \u201cHowever, electronic transmission control technology was ahead of its time. The market wasn\u2019t ready for it,\u201d Hermann Scholl says. In addition, it was during this time that the family-owned company Glas was acquired by the automaker BMW, and BMW was not interested in using the new technology in its cars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_2403\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2403\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-2403\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"2403\" data-permalink=\"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?attachment_id=2403\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?fit=2126%2C1535\" data-orig-size=\"2126,1535\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"ECU 1965\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Electronic control for manual transmissions from 1965&lt;\/p&gt;\n&lt;p&gt;Electronic control for manual transmissions would relieve drivers of the need to depress the clutch and shift gears by hand. The technology was developed under the leadership of the young engineer Hermann Scholl, who is now the honorary chairman of the Bosch Group. It was designed to be an affordable alternative to expensive automatic transmissions, which back then were offered almost exclusively in luxury sedans.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?fit=980%2C707\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-2403\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?resize=300%2C217\" alt=\"Electronic control for manual transmissions from 1965   Electronic control for manual transmissions would relieve drivers of the need to depress the clutch and shift gears by hand. The technology was developed under the leadership of the young engineer Hermann Scholl, who is now the honorary chairman of the Bosch Group. It was designed to be an affordable alternative to expensive automatic transmissions, which back then were offered almost exclusively in luxury sedans.\" width=\"300\" height=\"217\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?resize=300%2C217 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?resize=1024%2C739 1024w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?resize=208%2C150 208w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?resize=150%2C108 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/1-GS-21332.jpg?w=1960 1960w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-2403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Electronic control for manual transmissions from 1965<br \/>Electronic control for manual transmissions would relieve drivers of the need to depress the clutch and shift gears by hand. The technology was developed under the leadership of the young engineer Hermann Scholl, who is now the honorary chairman of the Bosch Group. It was designed to be an affordable alternative to expensive automatic transmissions, which back then were offered almost exclusively in luxury sedans.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong>Motronic created the basis for automatic transmissions<\/strong> It was not until years later, in 1979, that another Bosch invention was to be the trigger for the mass success of the self-shifting transmission. With Motronic \u2013 a combination of electronic fuel injection and ignition \u2013 Bosch had installed a freely programmable microprocessor in cars for the first time. But there was more to it than that. In combination with its separate memory, it was the first ever instance of a computer being used in a car. \u201cMotronic provided a second chance for the transmission control system \u2013 though this time for automatic, not manual, transmissions. In combination with the engine management system, it ensured the ideal automatic gear change,\u201d Hermann Scholl says. It was only as a result of combining the two systems \u2013 electronic transmission control and engine management \u2013 that automatic gear change became far easier. When manually shifting gear, the driver also uses the gas pedal to control the engine. Similarly, the transmission control system sends commands to the engine. The engine management system interprets these commands and carries them out. In 1983, this transmission control system was installed for the first time in the BMW 745i \u2013 together with the 4HP22 automatic transmission made by ZF AG, based in Friedrichshafen, Germany.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Modern transmission control: high-tech computer in miniature<\/strong> At the time, the technology was still quite exclusive, but over the course of the following two decades, it became standard in all cars with automatic transmissions. It also anticipated a major trend. The electronic transmission control, which synchronizes gear shifts with injection and ignition parameters, is, in the best sense, a connected system designed to provide optimum driving performance, comfort, fuel consumption, and emissions. \u201cThe transmission control system selects gears in such a way that the engine is almost always in the ideal operating range. To make sure it stays that way, modern transmissions are equipped with a great deal of digital intelligence,\u201d Hermann Scholl says. The control unit is a\u00a0high-tech miniature computer that enables the complex operation of different types of automatic transmissions. Indeed, the processing capacity of a modern transmission control unit is 160\u00a0times more powerful than that of the computer used for the first lunar flight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Coasting and connectivity: the future of automatic transmissions<\/strong> Today, half of all new vehicles in the world are equipped with an automatic transmission, and all the signs point toward greater connectivity. At Bosch, proof of this takes the form of the electronic horizon, which connects the transmission with up-to-the-minute navigation information. Navigation systems know the area and can transmit this data to the automatic transmission, which, in turn, can shift into neutral during coasting and use the residual momentum \u2013 for example, when it knows that a lower speed limit is in force beyond the next bend. This \u201csmarter\u201d automatic transmission combined with an electronic horizon can provide additional fuel savings of ten percent or more.<\/p>\n<p>(Source: Bosch Media)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u00a050 years of automatics: how Bosch taught the car to change gear itself In 1965, Bosch developed the first electronic control for manual transmissions Motronic made the breakthrough of automatic transmissions possible Modern transmission control: high-performance computer in miniature Fifty years ago, the first Bosch prototype featuring electronic transmission control made its maiden journey. The [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15,37],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2401","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-automotive","category-history"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p79TdE-CJ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2343,"url":"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?p=2343","url_meta":{"origin":2401,"position":0},"title":"Bosch transmission control units","author":"Tom Denton","date":"April 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Customer benefit: Compared to manual transmissions, modern automatic transmissions enhance driving comfort and also save on fuel, which is because they independently determine the point at which the engine runs most efficiently. In series-produced vehicles, there are now up to nine gears to choose from. High-tech: Modern transmissions are equipped\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Automotive&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Automotive","link":"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?cat=15"},"img":{"alt_text":"1-UBK-20489","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/1-UBK-20489-300x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2887,"url":"http:\/\/tomdenton.org\/blog\/?p=2887","url_meta":{"origin":2401,"position":1},"title":"Keyless as secure as a fingerprint","author":"Tom Denton","date":"December 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It takes less than five seconds for a hacker to compromise a standard keyless vehicle entry system. Among experts,this is known as a relay station attack. A Bosch key app is going to change all that. \u201cOur Perfectly Keyless system revolutionizes keyless entry systems. 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