Predicting cylinder pressure for on-vehicle control

An apparatus for predicting cylinder pressure for on-vehicle control of an internal combustion engine (12) includes a piston sensor (18), a cylinder pressure sensor (20), and a controller (16). The piston sensor (18) is coupled to a piston located in the engine. The piston sensor (18) detects the piston position and generates a piston position signal. The cylinder pressure sensor (20) 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 (16) receives both the piston position signal and the cylinder pressure signal. A neural network, located in the controller (16), uses this data to predict an undesirable cylinder pressure during a future combustion event. The controller (16) then modifies the future combustion event in response to the predicted undesirable cylinder pressure.