Red Light Racing

The very basic idea of Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) will allow us to directly control the pressure generated by the Honda electric fuel pump. By reducing the pressure we'll reduce the overall energy consumption of the car related to a significant vampire which means more energy available to move the car on down the road and less energy required from the fuel tank. In other words, better fuel mileage. The basic code on PWM control is below. When we fab our system up for the Insight 1G we'll post additional information and pictures to give a better idea of how the electronics and mechanical components come together. One nice item is we'll be able to dial fuel pressure up and down using a potentiometer. For now, check out the following link for a nuts and bolts explanation of PWM control.

//From IPT PHYSICAL COMPUTING 
int potPin = 0;           // Analog in 0 connected to the potentiometer
int transistorPin = 9;    // connected to the base of the transistor
int potValue = 0;         // value returned from the potentiometer
 
void setup() {
  // set  the transistor pin as output:
  pinMode(transistorPin, OUTPUT);
}
 
void loop() {
  // read the potentiometer, convert it to 0 - 255:
  potValue = analogRead(potPin) / 4;
  // use that to control the transistor:
  analogWrite(9, potValue);
}