Designing micro-based systems for fail-safe travel: For reliable control of railroads, aircraft, and space vehicles, designers are harnessing the power of the microprocessor

People expect travel by train and airplane to be safe, and microprocessors today play a crucial role in transportation safety. But just what degree of safety is possible, technically and economically? In all complex transportation applications there are hazards, which engineers control by making assumptions about how a transportation system will be designed, used, and maintained. When those assumptions are wrong, unidentified and uncontrolled hazards may occur, and catastrophe can result.