Predicting cylinder pressure for on-vehicle control

An apparatus for predicting cylinder pressure for on-vehicle control of an internal combustion engine includes a piston sensor, a cylinder pressure sensor, and a controller. The piston sensor is coupled to a piston located in the engine. The piston sensor detects the piston position and generates a piston position signal. The cylinder pressure sensor is coupled to a cylinder located in the engine. The cylinder pressure sensor detects the cylinder pressure and generates a cylinder pressure signal. The controller receives both the piston position signal and the cylinder pressure signal. A neural network, located in the controller, uses this data to predict an undesirable cylinder pressure during a future combustion event. The controller then modifies the future combustion event in response to the predicted undesirable cylinder pressure.