SanDisk Introduces Automotive Grade Flash Storage Solutions

SanDisk Corporation introduced a suite of automotive grade NAND flash solutions designed for next-generation ‘connected cars’ and automotive infotainment systems.

These automotive storage solutions are optimized to bring reliable, performance storage to a range of in-vehicle applications, including 3D mapping and advanced augmented reality in navigation systems, entertainment systems, intuitive driver assist technology, data event recorders, and more. By providing the responsiveness and capacity of flash storage technology, automotive solutions offer the potential for car manufacturers to continue to push the boundaries of connected car application experience.

Today’s vehicles are rapidly becoming more technologically sophisticated, with many featuring advanced connected applications that were once only possible on a smartphone. A recent Gartner Research report forecasted that “about one in five vehicles on the road worldwide will have some form of wireless network connection by 2020, amounting to more than 250 million connected vehicles in service^.”

“Flash is enabling dramatic innovation in the auto industry and is expected to transform the car into one of the most connected devices we own,” said Drew Henry, SVP and GM, mobile and connected solutions, SanDisk. “Our vertical integration and deep flash expertise uniquely enables us to architect our automotive grade storage solutions to provide the responsiveness needed to support new and emerging connected applications, as well as offer the reliability and trusted performance that’s absolutely critical for the automotive market.“

The automotive portfolio of storage solutions includes an automotive grade SD card and iNAND embedded flash drive (EFD), which are available to automotive manufacturers in capacities up to 64GB. Leveraging SanDisk’s proprietary flash storage architectures, these solutions bring superior experiences to data-intensive automotive infotainment and connected car applications, enabling maps to load fast, improving touch-screen responsiveness, and reducing potential interference from driving on uneven or rough roadways.

Flash technology means trusted performance
The company’s automotive storage solutions are built to meet the reliability, endurance, quality and temperature demands of the automotive market, and are AEC-Q100 certified. SanDisk’s end-to-end vertical integration heightens quality control, from flash memory wafer manufacturing to product assembly, test and analysis, to customer implementation. The company is working with automotive chipset vendors to optimize the automotive grade storage solutions for use with the latest application processors, further streamlining the implementation process for auto makers.

“It is increasingly becoming clear that tier 1 auto makers will no longer just compete on the road-performance, comfort and gas mileage they offer, but also the infotainment and connected car experiences they deliver to drivers. For these types of applications, the responsiveness and capacity of flash makes it the ideal storage medium,” said Richard Robinson, director, global automotive practice, Strategy Analytics.

Storage solutions for mobile and connected world
These automotive storage solutions are the latest additions to company’s portfolio of flash storage solutions for mobile and connected devices, including iNAND EFD, microSD card and SD card product families. These products offer flash storage to smartphones, tablets, e-readers, digital living room, automotive and other connected devices.

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