The comments about TBW making assembly cheaper are well-founded and accurate, but there's WAY more than just that:
TBW let's you get rid of the idle speed solenoid / idle speed bypass motor, which handles high idle during warmup and anti-stall during big drop throttle. Instead, the ECU can move the throttle plate directly. More control authority, less under/overshoot, more stable idle, less idle fuel consumption - not to mention a savings of between 1 (PWM idle solenoids like Honda) to as many as 6 wires (stepper motor systems like Mitsubishi)
TBW allows you to change the ratio between delta pedal and delta throttle - and do so *dynamically*. You can do this by changing the linkage and cam on a mechanical throttle, but it's a big deal and not easy to tune. With TBW, it's a lookup table or a function. If you have a powerful car with a big throttle body, this can pay HUGE fuel savings and vehicle control dividends at low throttle plate angles, where tiny tiny differences in throttle plate angle make huge differences in airflow.
TBW makes traction control / stability control WAY easier - and it doesn't crackle and bang like spark retard systems do.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Just because you can't imagine the benefits don't mean they aren't there.
I participated in an event that raced a period-complete 1970 Plymouth Superbird Hemi against a bone-stock 1999 Honda minivan. Not a drag race, but a race with corners.
I could counter with the number of packets being transmitted across the entire network in a similar timeframe, or with the total number of electrons in use - but like your bone fragment example - those would be worthless metrics of complexity.
We don't "up or out" - and we also have fairly stringent gateways and goalposts for promotion (specifically, courses that must be taken prior to moving up - courses that are ranked and merited, with only so many serials running each year)
We have plenty of Captains who will never make Major, Majors who will never make LCol, etc. Some of these guys are dead wood, but the majority of them are solid officers who perform productive work and who retain vast stores of corporate knowledge. They may not be rock stars, but they (mostly) aren't idiots - and they never get Peter Principled (where a solid Captain becomes a shitty Major).
It makes for a much more effective - and happier - organization.
1. The UAV feed can be relayed to a room full of targeting analysts, legal advisors, and the highest level of command you need to have the authority to make the shoot - none of whom are in danger - which gives you the best possible chance of making the right "shoot/don't shoot" decision;
2. The UAV pilot isn't hopped up on amphetamines;
3. The UAV pilot isn't part of a culture that degenerates pilots who return home from missions without shooting, thus motivating human pilots to shoot at *something* before they go home; and
4. The UAV pilot cannot make a bullshit claim of "self-defence" before rolling in on an unauthorized target - like, say, a Canadian target range.
That "up or out" policy has always struck me as being bizarre.
Sure, not everybody has the chops to go on to be a senior officer. Sometimes, a guy is going to top out at Captain. But he could be a very *good* (or at least acceptable) Captain, and there's no shortage of jobs that profit from having a senior Captain in that slot. Why get rid of those guys?
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So then don't do a sloppy implementation, and reap the benefits.
Stop being a Luddite - TBW is awesome. Almost as much as EFI trumping carbs.
The comments about TBW making assembly cheaper are well-founded and accurate, but there's WAY more than just that:
TBW let's you get rid of the idle speed solenoid / idle speed bypass motor, which handles high idle during warmup and anti-stall during big drop throttle. Instead, the ECU can move the throttle plate directly. More control authority, less under/overshoot, more stable idle, less idle fuel consumption - not to mention a savings of between 1 (PWM idle solenoids like Honda) to as many as 6 wires (stepper motor systems like Mitsubishi)
TBW allows you to change the ratio between delta pedal and delta throttle - and do so *dynamically*. You can do this by changing the linkage and cam on a mechanical throttle, but it's a big deal and not easy to tune. With TBW, it's a lookup table or a function. If you have a powerful car with a big throttle body, this can pay HUGE fuel savings and vehicle control dividends at low throttle plate angles, where tiny tiny differences in throttle plate angle make huge differences in airflow.
TBW makes traction control / stability control WAY easier - and it doesn't crackle and bang like spark retard systems do.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
Just because you can't imagine the benefits don't mean they aren't there.
I participated in an event that raced a period-complete 1970 Plymouth Superbird Hemi against a bone-stock 1999 Honda minivan. Not a drag race, but a race with corners.
The Honda wasn't just faster, it was WAY faster.
We use taxes to fund our universal healthcare system. And the air ambulance that would come get him if required.
You're talking about a nation that went to war with itself - killing millions of people - so that it could try and keep the institution of SLAVERY.
In the face of that, how is brinksmanship over paying the bills in any way surprising?
Amen, Brother!
Agreed.
It's like watching Linux morph into Windows 8
DG
Tell me about it...
DG
I've got an XP laptop that instantly BSODs the second you close the lid.
So yeah, myth busted.
DG
Cosmonaut?
Try "confidant"
Uhhh, Dude - the reason why they are called “alpha" males is because *they are in charge*.
All that "relationship building" stuff *works*. It's like you are sneering at *gravity*.
DG
What part of "move on already" did you NOT understand?
DG
Agreed! How dare people enjoy something!
(Oh, I think Kevin Bacon may be teaching your daughter how to dance. You should probably check into that)
Act like a kid, get treated like one.
...and the simulation reported a 40% increase in property values inside the blast radius.
I had no idea the sim was that accurate.
(I kid. I kid because I love. 519 represent! )
DG
There isn't even a standardized measure of grits viscosity. How can you model pouring when there is so little consistency batch-to-batch?
DG
Eternal September wasn't an event; it's a process.
DG
Kid, he's right; you're wrong. Move on already.
DG
Non sequitur.
I could counter with the number of packets being transmitted across the entire network in a similar timeframe, or with the total number of electrons in use - but like your bone fragment example - those would be worthless metrics of complexity.
DG
It likes cats.
DG
Cross reference that population number with percentage of average income and you'll get your answer.
DG
ISAF ROE was warning shots unless you needed to engage for immediate self defense.
Theatre wide.
DG
Except that the Canadian experience refutes this.
We don't "up or out" - and we also have fairly stringent gateways and goalposts for promotion (specifically, courses that must be taken prior to moving up - courses that are ranked and merited, with only so many serials running each year)
We have plenty of Captains who will never make Major, Majors who will never make LCol, etc. Some of these guys are dead wood, but the majority of them are solid officers who perform productive work and who retain vast stores of corporate knowledge. They may not be rock stars, but they (mostly) aren't idiots - and they never get Peter Principled (where a solid Captain becomes a shitty Major).
It makes for a much more effective - and happier - organization.
1. The UAV feed can be relayed to a room full of targeting analysts, legal advisors, and the highest level of command you need to have the authority to make the shoot - none of whom are in danger - which gives you the best possible chance of making the right "shoot/don't shoot" decision;
2. The UAV pilot isn't hopped up on amphetamines;
3. The UAV pilot isn't part of a culture that degenerates pilots who return home from missions without shooting, thus motivating human pilots to shoot at *something* before they go home; and
4. The UAV pilot cannot make a bullshit claim of "self-defence" before rolling in on an unauthorized target - like, say, a Canadian target range.
DG
That "up or out" policy has always struck me as being bizarre.
Sure, not everybody has the chops to go on to be a senior officer. Sometimes, a guy is going to top out at Captain. But he could be a very *good* (or at least acceptable) Captain, and there's no shortage of jobs that profit from having a senior Captain in that slot. Why get rid of those guys?