Technology

Flash Memory in the Era of the Software-Defined Car

16/08/2022 by Martin Schreiber

The architecture of the new Software-Defined Car differs significantly from established automotive architectures used so far. New high performance applications such as ADAS/AV, infotainment, drive video/data recorder or instrument cluster fuel the demand for compute scalability resulting in high bandwidth and low latency of storage. Autonomous driving requires seamless/real-time stream of an ever-increasing amount of data exchange between the vehicle and internet connected cloud services.

Centralized storage architecture for future automotive platformsCentralized storage architecture for future automotive platforms.

 

In this regard, OEMs are facing new challenges where Swissbit is a reliable partner.

Decoupling of software from the hardware and serviceability across the entire lifecycle of a vehicle: From commissioning to de-commissioning, and any time between. This requires product architectures that support secure Over The Air (OTA) updateability of application software, but equally important SSD firmware. This not only means new requirements to flash memory solutions used in vehicles, it also opens up entirely new business models and revenue streams for new mobility providers.

No safety without security: Functional safety as defined by the ISO 26262 requires OEMs to demonstrate effective cybersecurity risk mitigation mechanisms as defined as an example in the ISO 21434. Those two standards go hand in hand as all safety-critical systems are indeed security-critical. Why? Because a cyber-attack either directly or indirectly on a safety-critical system could lead to potential safety losses. Hence hardware based security solutions are playing a key role in enabling OEMs to protect data and devices as well as complying to regulatory standards up to ASIL D.

Customization and optimization of flash memory devices to application and user specific performance and endurance workloads. The focus is on scalability and flexibility to fit a wide field of applications enabled by virtualization as known from the datacenter/cloud storage market.

Swissbit offers building blocks that allow OEMs and tier 1 suppliers to implement secure storage solutions for new software defined car architectures. Beside that, Swissbit has an extensive portfolio of automotive grade flash memory products. Swissbit’s Management System which includes the production site in Berlin is IATF 16949 certified and therefore fulfills the requirements of the automotive industry.

Typical Applications in the Software-Defined Car:

  • Advanced driver assistance systems (ADAS)
  • Autonomous driving platforms
  • Infotainment systems
  • EV charging
  • Drive video recorder
  • Instrument cluster
  • Dashcam

Swissbit designs and manufactures secure storage for the automotive world.

Swissbit designs and manufactures secure storage for the automotive world.

We look forward to discussing your requirements and illustrating how you can benefit from our automotive competence. Simply contact us at sales@swissbit.com or call +41 71 913 03 03 (Europe) or +1 978 490 3252 (North America). swissbit