Addressing the Data Storage Challenges in Autonomous Mobility

By Khalid Wani, Senior Director – Sales, India, Western Digital

Cutting-edge AI-driven technologies have reimagined the possibilities of autonomous driving with a radical level of data intelligence and connectivity. Over 70% of cars are expected to be connected by 20252 in the global market, with one in four cars to have 5G connectivity. This means that now consumers are increasingly open to multiple levels of autonomy in their vehicles. Existing features like infotainment systems, automated braking, collision warnings, cruise control, and blind-spot vision in driver-controlled cars already produce a massive data load.

As a result, there is a vast data storage challenge that needs to be solved before the automotive industry can leap into the idyllic autonomous driving future. This calls for an urgent reinvention of storage, network, and computing infrastructures that seamlessly manage large swathes of data collected by a connected car.

Here are some data-intensive applications and the right storage solution options:

1. Navigation and infotainment: In this day and age, even standard features like navigation and infotainment have received a significant update, with systems now capable of controlling everything from mobile communications to vehicle setup and 3D navigation. Enhanced flash storage technology such as iNAND storage devices are needed for superior reliability. This storage solution is designed to support data demands of the latest cutting-edge infotainment, navigation, HD mapping, V2V/V2I communication, drive event recorders, and autonomous driving.
2. Dashboard recorders: Dashcams provide vital intelligence to the police and insurance companies on accidents, especially in areas where CCTV coverage is limited. It also means data storage is becoming an increasingly important consideration in today’s vehicles. Dashcams can generate substantial data, making removable microSD™ and SD™ cards good storage solutions to save video recordings as this offers flexibility. Western Digital’s automotive grade SD cards are designed and optimized for the auto industry and offer reliability and performance.
3. Telematics and over-the-air: Automotive software is vital to this process as it communicates various environmental emergency alerts to information about a car’s health before an accident. Automotive software also requires constant updates, and telematics allows OEMs to update cars over-the-air (OTA) through wireless networks. Western Digital offers a data storage solution for Telematics wherein updates can be downloaded into iNAND embedded flash devices, which can then be added to other systems in the car for updates.
4. V2V/V2I communications: The Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) and Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I) communications power autonomous driving. This crucial piece of technology is essential in ensuring the prevention of accidents and a safe driving experience. Western Digital’s Universal Flash Storage (UFS) storage technology is designed to operate in-vehicle and infrastructure environments that constantly generate and stream data for immediate and offline data analytics. It delivers high-performance data transmission in even the most extreme environmental conditions.

It is exciting to see storage technologies driving innovation for mobility. As we advance driving capacity and performance capabilities—data storage and management will be at the forefront of automotive development.