Toshiba launches new HDD to meet demand for in-car infotainment

Toshiba has more than ten years experience in the automotive sector, claiming 84 per cent market share[1] of this specialist segment. Its automotive-grade HDDs are integrated into the latest models produced by six of Europe’s largest automotive manufacturers alone. Worldwide, Toshiba automotive-grade HDDs can be found in more than 15 leading automotive brands. Ruggedised to provide the exceptional performance and resistance to extremes of temperature required to function in this environment, the drives have also been subjected to the rigorous testing that all new Toshiba automotive-grade HDDs must undergo prior to integration.

To date, Toshiba has shipped more than nine million automotive-grade HDDs worldwide[2]. Furthermore, according to IMS Research, Western Europe is the biggest automotive navigation market worldwide from eight million units in 2005 to a forecast of over 31 million units in 2009[3]. These HDDs are already helping to transform the in-car experience for drivers and passengers alike, providing access to giant music libraries and navigation information at the touch of one integrated button.

As Toshiba's first SATA model for automotive class HDD, the new drive enables future navigation and infotainment systems to be easily integrated with new breeds of automotive chip set designs, and with other telematic technology developments. In addition, systems will benefit from faster data transfer rates than with the previous PATA interface, at 1.5 GB per second and with a seek time of 16 milliseconds.

“Toshiba has been a pioneer in the automotive-grade HDD market since developing the first ruggedised 2.5-inch HDD able to withstand extreme operating temperatures and altitudes of the automotive environment,” said Toshio Magome, Senior Director at Techno Systems Research Co., Ltd. “The introduction of SATA will play a pivotal role in delivering next-generation automotive infotainment applications and sophisticated navigation systems.”

Martin Larsson, Vice President and General Manager, Toshiba Europe Storage Device Division, commented: “As the current economic downturn impacts on car sales it has never been more important for automotive manufacturers to differentiate their offerings with innovative technology. In response, in-car infotainment systems are graduating from being a luxury to a mainstream feature, resulting in an upswing in demand for power-efficient and durable automotive-grade HDD technology. Toshiba has committed considerable time and resources to developing the quality products expected by leading automobile manufacturers. Consequently, Toshiba HDDs have become the de facto standard for automotive-grade HDDs.”

Automotive-grade HDDs offer substantial advantages for OEM system designers and integrators compared to alternative storage devices available in the market. In addition, the automotive market requires specialist customisation which would require a considerable amount of research and development time for upcoming alternative storage solutions to achieve.

In-car systems are required to operate efficiently and effectively in extreme environments in order to avoid system downtime and data loss. Toshiba’s new HDDs can operate at altitudes of -300m to 5,500m, where air is thinner, thanks to improvements in the aerodynamic technology utilised on the magnetic head slider. In addition, to ensure the disk spindle operates in sub-freezing and high temperatures, the operating temperature range of Toshiba’s automotive drives range between -30° to +85° C whilst the spindle motor runs at 4,200rpm. The wide temperature specifications provide unsurpassed reliability in extreme operating conditions. Nor has high build quality compromised the product’s energy efficiency. Compared to its predecessor, the MK6015MAP, the new MK8057GSC mode from Toshiba has reduced CO2 emissions by about 68g a year.