Rebirth of the 1980s: The Military Industry Empire

The computer monitors a lot of data, such as the engine's power output and the vehicle's load. If it detects sufficient power, it will skip gears. In the low-speed range, there's no need to shift through each gear individually.

With twelve gears, unless the vehicle is heavily loaded and going uphill, the driver wouldn't shift through each gear to gradually increase speed. Instead, they'd go from first to third to fifth, or second to fourth to sixth, and then directly to a higher gear. That's the most efficient way.

Now, the computer controlling the gear changes has made the same judgment, directly shifting to third gear. Wang Jinman looked at the numbers on the seven-segment display in front of him and was very satisfied.

The vehicle continued to accelerate, shifting to fifth gear again. This time, there was a slight grinding sound, indicating that there were still issues with the program that needed to be addressed.

Next, accelerate and enter the high gear range!

Just then, a rattling sound came from the side of the road ahead. Several bicycles were blown over by the wind, and one of them was blocking the road!

Wang Jinman quickly released his foot. Who would have thought that the speed at that moment would be just right for shifting to sixth gear? So, the computer, in its infinite wisdom, shifted to sixth gear. But then, Wang Jinman had already released his foot, and the engine didn't have enough power. The computer started downshifting, dropping all the way to fourth gear.

Wang Jinman, sitting on top, was thrown forward and backward. The sudden acceleration followed by sudden deceleration made him feel unsteady and uncomfortable. However, he calmly reduced the vehicle's speed, then steered around the bicycles on the curb.

Hmph, these small problems can't stump me! Wang Jinman continued to floor the accelerator, and the vehicle suddenly accelerated. The gears jumped two levels at once, but then it detected insufficient power and started downshifting again!

Inside the transmission, the sound of pneumatic shifting was constant. The numbers on the seven-segment display next to Wang Jinman's steering wheel were also constantly changing. He immediately felt a sense of panic and slammed on the brakes.

The vehicle stopped, and the engine stalled.

Wang Jinman's expression was a little unsightly. Just now, he felt like he was riding in a rickety old cart, being tossed back and forth. This ordeal made his stomach churn, but thankfully, nothing bad happened.

After the engine stalled, the vehicle was safe. Wang Jinman looked at Qin Yang with an embarrassed expression: "President Qin, I'm sorry, this first test drive was a failure. I've let you down."

"No, I think it's pretty good."

Good? This kind of consolation isn't very good, is it? Wang Jinman looked at Qin Yang suspiciously.

"We've only just started researching, so there are bound to be problems," Qin Yang said. "As long as the hardware is okay, the vehicle can move, and it can shift gears, then the test drive is considered a success. In the future, we can continue to test and optimize the program. It will gradually mature. It will take three to five years for the vehicle to understand the driver's intentions."

There's no need to rush this. What is the shifting logic? What is the timing of the shifts? Everything needs to be done slowly and gradually improved. A mature automatic transmission requires a long period of debugging.

They are both AT transmissions, but when used in Japanese cars, they are very smooth, while when used in Volkswagen cars, they always feel half a beat slow. Why? Isn't it because the debugging skills aren't up to par? Not to mention AT transmissions, even CVT transmissions, which are supposed to have the smoothest shifting, are sometimes poorly tuned by some manufacturers, resulting in jerky movements.

We are using AMT, which is the most difficult transmission to debug.

Adding a set of electronic controls to a manual transmission turns it into an automatic transmission. Some manufacturers have tried this in small cars, after all, it saves money. But the results were predictable. Customers simply wouldn't buy it.

It can be used on heavy trucks because there is no other choice, and heavy truck drivers are all experienced veterans. But for the road killers who drive small cars, driving an AMT transmission is definitely the worst experience.

Although dual-clutch transmissions are similar to manual transmissions, they have two sets of structures, which is like having two transmissions, one in use and one waiting to switch. If it's tuned well, the shifting effect is excellent.

After Qin Yang finished speaking, he reached out and touched the box that controlled the electronics, but quickly pulled his hand back.

"It's so hot!" Qin Yang said. "What kind of chip are you using inside? After all that jerking around, I'm afraid it overheated, right?"

"51 microcontroller."

When it comes to computers, some people always think of personal computers. But there are many types of computers. There are giant machines that take up entire buildings to forecast the weather, and there are single chips that are entire computers.

Personal computers also use chips, but this chip is just a processor. It also needs a motherboard chip, memory chip, etc., to work together. A microcontroller, on the other hand, integrates everything a computer needs onto a single chip. It can accomplish many tasks.

In the 1970s, microcontrollers entered a phase of rapid development. In 1976, Intel launched the MCS-48 series of microcontrollers. This microcontroller had an eight-bit processor, 1K bytes of memory, 64 bytes of data storage, etc. The launch of this microcontroller immediately caused a worldwide sensation.

Intel continued its efforts and launched the MCS-51 series of microcontrollers in 1980. This microcontroller increased the capacity of its internal memory and improved the instruction set, marking the beginning of its glory.

Later, STC launched the 89c51 chip. The biggest advantage of this chip is that it can be programmed in C language, making it more versatile. Not to mention the 1980s and 1990s, even in 2020, many industrial control machines are still using it.

However, this chip is not a vehicle-grade chip after all. Its heat dissipation is not very good. Just now, it overheated and crashed!

For computers, crashing is a common occurrence. Too many instructions to complete, instructions looping back and forth, etc., can all cause crashes. If the heat dissipation is not good, it will definitely crash.

Entrusting the shifting operation to the computer is not fatal, but if the brake pedal is also entrusted to the computer, then you are entrusting your life to the computer. Currently, truck brakes are air brakes, and car brakes are hydraulic brakes, both of which are mechanically controlled. In the future, there will be electric brakes, where the brake pedal only transmits an electrical signal. If the computer in charge of command suddenly crashes, the consequences are unimaginable.

Qin Yang sighed inwardly.

"Old Zhu, aren't you tired?"

"Not tired!"