> It does make you think that with this much involvement with
> computers we may
> all be vulnerable to problems like Toyota has run into....
Without meaning to comment on the quality of anyone's software; I will say
that in the world of embedded real-time processing (like an ECU); it is
scary easy to create a bug that will only show up under the arcane of
coincidences.
The huge number of identical systems only adds to the problem; if you have a
bug that on average only affects any particular unit once in a hundred
years; but you've sold 20 million units, then 20,000 people a year are going
to experience that bug.
Can you imagine how hard it is to find and fix a bug that only happens once
in a hundred years? And no, I'm not exaggerating.
I was totally amazed at the story of the fellow that drove onto a Toyota
dealer's lot with the engine racing. The dealer saw first-hand that the
physical pedal was not "stuck"; and yet they replaced a bunch of stuff and
let him drive away! They should have kept that car, in it's failed state,
and flown in a technician to at least try and figure out what had happened.
Was the ECU processor even still running? We'll never know ...
Sorry I can't share any similar stories from work, but trust me, they do
happen. Sometimes we never do learn why, exactly, only that some change
(like maybe shutting the engine down when the brakes are applied hard) makes
them not happen.
Randall
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