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Okay, your car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and it's raining outside. You can get out, pop the hood, and look around for an obvious cause of the problem (even if it would have to be really really obvious for some of us), or you could flip open your Engine Vision tablet, hit the power button,
and see your engine from as many different angles as you like without ever leaving your seat. The pinhole cameras would be stuck on several parts of the engine cab the same way those magnetic keyholders are stuck on now. They'd have retractable eyelids to keep them from getting dirty when not in use and would come equipped with pen-sized light beams so you could see in the dark. With something like this you wouldn't have to get out and get wet. You'd also be able to get a much better view without having to weave your way around the engine to check everything.
The Big Bus
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0074205/
[DrBob, Oct 03 2007]
[link]
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Now, how about an engine designed so it's immediately obvious what's wrong with it, just by looking at it? assuming that one has basic knowledge of how an engine works, has a modicum of mechanical insight, and is not actually asleep or dead at the time. |
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A bite of croissant just on principle, to subvert OEM secrecy... |
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It would have to be something pretty damn fundamental for you to be able to diagnose it just by looking in the engine bay. "Oh, there's a piston sticking out the side of the block. I bet *that's* not supposed to be there." Even a disconnected wire would require a bit of poking around. When my old Vauxhall siezed a piston and smashed the con-rod, the engine looked fine. |
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I can think of some times it would help. |
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If I saw water coming out of a hole in the radiator then I'd stay in the car and call for help. If instead of that I saw a hose leaking I'd probably get out, temporarily tape it up, and look for enough water to get me where I needed to be. |
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If I saw a broken belt I could tell the road service which one to bring with them when they came. |
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There was a TV show, (an early candid camera perhaps?) that showed a car rolling into the forecourt of a garage and stopping, before the driver steps out and asks the attendant to see why his car's not working. The attendant opens the bonnet, and to his surprise, there's no engine! Candidly filmed hilarity ensues. |
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I'd like to bun this but for the fact that what's wrong with the car is often something you can't see. The engine's mechanicals are usually doing fine - rings and bearings and suchlike notwithstanding - but the control mechanisms are another story. |
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In my experience, if an engine dies, there's nothing mechanically wrong with it, but something electronic most likely is. |
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Would a series of microphones placed around the engine be as if not more revealing? |
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You'd need fifty cameras to be able to look
in all the nooks and crannies, and even
then it wouldn't be the same as direct
viewing. |
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And, if the system works, and you spot the
problem, how do you propose to fix it
from inside the car? |
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With the original batmobile, _everything_ could be fixed from inside the car. Alfred had thought of it all. |
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Holy sump reattachment, Batman! |
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Does anyone remember the really awful movie "The Big Bus," and how the vehicle could supposedly change its own tires on the fly? |
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It was a fabulous movie. Philistine! |
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Maxwell - I'm not going to get out and fix the problem unless I can see it's something I could do. If I can't fix it then I'd call AAA and just stay dry in the car while I'm waiting for them. |
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