Micron:
Robert Bielby
Senior Director
‘‘
F
We’ve become a
leading provider
of automotive
‘‘
memory solutions
– not by chance,
but by design
38
The Leading Memory
Partner For The Automotive
Industry
or all their importance, cars
haven’t changed that much over
the last century in terms of
purpose or functionality. This is not to
say that cars are simple. In fact, cars
are incredibly complex, as well as
cleaner, safer, and more reliable; but
the formula for success has remained
consistent over time. That is, up until
the last two decades, when
advancements in mobile computing
and semiconductors – the now
ubiquitous computer chip – started
transforming vehicles in ways that
would have seemed improbably
futuristic even a few years ago. Today
the automotive industry is on the cusp
of a second revolution.
The car of tomorrow is coming to life
more quickly than anyone imagined.
Technologies like cameras to gather
and process data to enable the driver
and vehicle to respond more quickly
and efficiently have already been
integrated into vehicles and are
resulting in a safer driving experience.
And multiple vehicle manufacturers
predict that we are only a few short
years away from mass-production of
vehicles that can fully drive
themselves. These advancements
create opportunities for personal use,
as well as fleet usage for entire cities.
Nurturing Data the way it was
meant to be
Autonomous cars will save the U.S.
economy roughly $642 billion dollars a
year according to Forbes. With so
much to gain from the self-driving car,
manufacturers and automotive
technology providers are working
vehemently to meet the safety needs
and entertainment wants of future car
buyers looking to maximize their time
and money with connected cars. There
are four main areas in a car in which
memory is used, and each area has
different memory requirements:
Ÿ Power train system: NOR flash with
its ability to work at extreme
temperatures (from -40°C to
+125°C) and its reliable code storage
is the memory used in power trains.
Memory used in the power train
enhances conventional engines and
July 2017