Drive By Wire (DbW)
Drive by wire or DbW technology in the automotive industry is the use of electronic or electro-mechanical systems in place of mechanical linkages that control driving functions.
The concept is similar to Fly-By-Wire in the aviation industry.
The argument that DbW is bad
Because you lose the mechanical feeling of the car. But you see the same trend with airplanes. Super old planes were all mechanical, but they are now Fly-By-Wire, because there is not enough torque.
You can break this down into 3 parts:
- Throttle by wire (universal)
- Brake by wire (universal)
- Steer by Wire (NEW)
- Cars mostly still use power steering (electric power-assisted steering)
Brake by wire:
Reasons for brake by wire:
- Safety, because you want a ABS
- Can you have ABS without Brake by wire?
- More natural transition between mechanical brakes and regenerative braking, you don’t lose the “feel”