Uploaded October 2025 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
When the history of engineering is finally written, scholars will talk about the various ages of technology, and up until now, they’ve largely concentrated on motive power. The “Age of Coal”, the “Age of Steam”, the “Age of Petroleum”, and the “Age of Electricity” are already part of the lexicon, but it’s second decade of the 21st century, and a strong argument can be made for the “Age of Software”.
Particularly the development of the software defined machine, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in the automotive industry. Starting from simple control of electronic fuel injection through firmware maps, modern vehicles now contain hundreds of millions of lines of code, and coders now outnumber mechanical engineers in most automaker R&D departments. Vehicles are more capable, and are much more sophisticated, but the price of this advancement is complexity. Are modern cars and light trucks too complex? Jim Anderton has definite opinions.
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engineering.com TV:
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Panel Expert Roundtables: engineering.com/category/watch/the-engineering-roundtable
For the Design Engineer: engineering.com/category/watch/designing-the-future
For the Manufacturing Engineer: engineering.com/category/watch/manufacturing-the-future
* * *
STEM GAMES:
Play some fun engineering-based STEM games on engineering.com:
engineering.com/games
* * *
#automotiveindustry #software #controlsystems
When the history of engineering is finally written, scholars will talk about the various ages of technology, and up until now, they’ve largely concentrated on motive power. The “Age of Coal”, the “Age of Steam”, the “Age of Petroleum”, and the “Age of Electricity” are already part of the lexicon, but it’s second decade of the 21st century, and a strong argument can be made for the “Age of Software”.
Particularly the development of the software defined machine, and nowhere is this more prevalent than in the automotive industry. Starting from simple control of electronic fuel injection through firmware maps, modern vehicles now contain hundreds of millions of lines of code, and coders now outnumber mechanical engineers in most automaker R&D departments. Vehicles are more capable, and are much more sophisticated, but the price of this advancement is complexity. Are modern cars and light trucks too complex? Jim Anderton has definite opinions.
* * *
engineering.com TV:
Watch in-depth engineering videos made for the engineering professional and found exclusively on engineering.com TV:
Panel Expert Roundtables: engineering.com/category/watch/the-engineering-roundtable
For the Design Engineer: engineering.com/category/watch/designing-the-future
For the Manufacturing Engineer: engineering.com/category/watch/manufacturing-the-future
* * *
STEM GAMES:
Play some fun engineering-based STEM games on engineering.com:
engineering.com/games
* * *
#automotiveindustry #software #controlsystems
