Quad-port SSD accelerates data-rich autonomous and AI-enabled vehicle workloads

Micron Technology, Inc. is sampling the automotive-grade Micron 4150AT SSD, the world’s first quad-port SSD, capable of interfacing with up to four SoCs to centralise storage for software-defined intelligent vehicles. The SSD combines market-leading features such as single-root input/output virtualisation (SR-IOV), a PCIe Generation 4 interface and ruggedised automotive design. With these features, the automotive-grade SSD delivers the ecosystem with data centre-level flexibility and power.

“As storage requirements race to keep up with rich in-vehicle experiences featuring AI and advanced algorithms for higher levels of autonomous safety, this era demands a new paradigm for automotive storage to match,” said Michael Basca, Micron vice president of embedded products and systems. “Building on our collaboration with the innovators redefining next-generation automotive architectures, Micron has reimagined storage from the ground up to deliver the world’s first quad-port SSD – the Micron 4150AT – which provides the industry flexibility and horsepower to roll out the transformative technologies on the horizon.”

This SSD brings enterprise-class speeds to consumer vehicles, with random read and write speeds above 600,000 IOPS and above 100,000 IOPS, respectively, for a 4kB transfer. This high performance permits the drive to efficiently manage data streams from multiple SoCs simultaneously, making it an ideal solution for vehicles that increasingly multitask to handle diverse systems, from ADAS to IVI to AI-enabled cabin experiences.

The company built its SSD to provide powerful, customisable features inspired by the design of data centre SSDs but tailored to the unique challenges of next-generation automotive architectures. These features include multi-port capability, virtualisation, boosted security, and customisable endurance modes, and they are designed for the automotive industry’s rigorous requirements.

The company is now delivering samples of the SSD to automotive customers worldwide. The drive is offered in capacities up to 1.8TB to facilitate efficient storage of AI algorithms, large language models, advanced infotainment and telemetry data for the next generation of vehicles.