Western Digital Enables Advanced Auto Systems with 3D NAND UFS Storage Tech

Addressing the demand of advanced automotive systems such as Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) and autonomous vehicles, Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) today introduced the first 3D TLC NAND automotive embedded UFS flash drive (EFD), expanding its portfolio of high-quality, high-endurance automotive storage solutions. The Western Digital iNAND® AT EU312 EFD  is based on the established UFS 2.1 interface and delivers high capacities and up to 2.5 times the performance of the company’s previous e.MMC-based products, while maintaining the rigorous quality and reliability levels required for automotive-grade devices.

Connected vehicles require fast and reliable data storage in increasingly higher capacities to support the vast amounts of data being generated, analyzed and accessed by digital cluster, infotainment, 3D map and navigation, telematics, ADAS applications, augmented reality and other advanced automotive systems. The Western Digital iNAND AT EU312 EFD is designed to operate in V2X environments, both in vehicle and infrastructure systems, that are constantly generating and streaming data for real-time and offline data analytics.

“As modern vehicles add more data-rich capabilities, such as machine vision, 3D mapping, multi-camera and multi-sensor-based systems and AI-driven databases, the need for bigger, faster, more reliable data storage has skyrocketed,” said Oded Sagee, senior director, product marketing, Western Digital. “Leveraging more than 16 years of automotive design experience, including advanced 3D TLC NAND technology built with Western Digital’s own NAND flash controllers, firmware and assembly and test, the new Western Digital iNAND AT EU312 EFD provides automotive OEMs and tier-one manufacturers the scalability in storage capacity, performance and reliability that will be the foundation of future mobility experiences.”

Western Digital iNAND AT EU312 UFS EFD Features:

High Capacity: Available in capacities ranging from 16GB to 256GB* based on 3D NAND technology

Performance: Delivers write speeds up to 550 MB/s and read speeds up to 800 MB/s**

Automotive Quality and Reliability: Features advanced memory management firmware and hardware, including robust error correction code (ECC), and is compliant with the JEDEC47, ISO26262, and AEC-Q100 Grade 3 and Grade 2 standards

Expanded Smart Features for OEMs: Western Digital provides a suite of automotive smart features, including enhanced power failure protection, a comprehensive memory health status monitor, enhanced SLC LUN, and OEM configurable boot partitioning

The Western Digital iNAND AT EU312 UFS EFD is the latest addition to Western Digital’s suite of automotive-grade storage solutions optimized to address the significant volume and criticality of data generated at the edge by connected automotive applications, including its iNAND e.MMC EFDs and Automotive SD cards. Western Digital is currently sampling storage solutions to OEMs in capacities up to 256GB.

*1GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes. Actual user storage less.

** Based on internal testing; performance may be lower depending upon host device interface, usage conditions and other factors. 1MB=1,000,000 bytes.

About Western Digital

Western Digital creates environments for data to thrive. The company is driving the innovation needed to help customers capture, preserve, access and transform an ever-increasing diversity of data. Everywhere data lives, from advanced data centers to mobile sensors to personal devices, our industry-leading solutions deliver the possibilities of data. Western Digital® data-centric solutions are marketed under the G-Technology™, HGST, SanDisk®, Tegile™, Upthere™, and WD® brands.