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Re:Bosch's brake-by-wire system may be the next big leap in ... by ryukoposting on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @08:26AM (#43089188)
Electronics can certainly be made to have appliance-like reliability and consistency. I'm a firmware dev, I'd know. My design philosophy is this: if I'm doing my job right, the customer should never know I exist.

That being said, there's a time and a place for software. Software is a solution to a problem, and I'm not clear on what problem this system is solving. Sure, Bosch's product makes the brake system smaller and lighter. Cool. To what extent does that make the car smaller and lighter? Amdahl's law applies to more than computers. Are we really optimizing the right thing here?

Re:Bosch's brake-by-wire system may be the next big leap in ... by metaphor on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @08:47AM (#43089407)
> Electronics can certainly be made to have appliance-like reliability and consistency.

To be sure, when measured against prevailing market trends, this is objectively not a good thing. For safety-critical systems like a vehicle's brakes, I fully expect much more than the superficial considerations I would normally give to appliances.

Re:Bosch's brake-by-wire system may be the next big leap in ... by ryukoposting on Wednesday February 19, 2025 @09:35AM (#43102543)
Your words hurt, but only because I know you're right.
Re:Bosch's brake-by-wire system may be the next big leap in ... by Brian_K_White on Tuesday February 18, 2025 @08:50AM (#43089434)
It doesn't matter how bulletproof the software is. It's already a huge downgrade that it must run on a chip.

A mechanical linkage of cables or rods or a hydraulic system all have their failure points also, but the differences are

the infrastructure required to manufacture a stick or a tube vs a chip and solenoids, motors, sensors,

the fact that a cable or linkage or hydraulic piston usually fails gradually over a long time while still functioning, while a chip dies without warning and completely,

and is not repairable in the field except by replacement, while you can repair a mechanical device essentially indefinitely with essentially any tools and materials that are available.