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Autonomous Vehicles and Digital Features Make the Car of the Future a “Data Center on Wheels”

By Donna Yasay, VP of Worldwide Business Development, Marvell

Advanced digital features, autonomous vehicles and new auto safety legislation are all amongst the many “drivers” escalating the number of chips and technology found in next-generation automobiles.  The wireless, connectivity, storage and security technologies needed for the internal and external vehicle communications in cars today and in the future, leverage technologies used in a data center—in fact, you could say the automobile is becoming—a Data Center on Wheels.

Here are some interesting data points supporting the evolution of the Data Center on Wheels:

  • The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) mandates that by May 2018, all new cars in the U.S. to have backup cameras. The agency reports that half of all new vehicles sold today already have backup cameras, showing widespread acceptance even without the NHTSA mandate.
  • Some luxury brands provide panoramic 360-degree surround views using multiple cameras. NVIDIA, which made its claim to fame in graphics processing chips for computers and video games, is a leading provider in the backup and surround view digital platforms, translating its digital expertise into the hottest of new vehicle trends. At the latest 2017 International CES, NVIDIA showcased its latest NVIDIA PX2, an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Car Computer for Self-Driving Vehicles, which enables automakers and their tier 1 suppliers to accelerate production of automated and autonomous vehicles.
  • According to an Intel presentation at CES reported in Network World, just one autonomous car will use 4,000GB (or 4 Terabytes) of data per day.
  • A January study by Strategy Analytics reported that by 2020, new cars are expected to have approximately 1,000 chips per vehicle.

Advanced Driver Assist Systems (ADAS), In-Vehicle Infotainment (IVI), autonomous vehicles—will rely on digital information streamed internally within the vehicle and externally from the vehicle to other vehicles or third-party services via chips, sensors, network and wireless connectivity.  All of this data will need to be processed, stored or transmitted seamlessly and securely, because a LoJack® isn’t necessarily going to help with a car hack.

This is why auto makers are turning to the high tech and semiconductor industries to support the move to more digitized, automated cars. Semiconductor leaders in wireless, connectivity, storage, and networking are all being tapped to design and manage the Data Center on Wheels.  For example, Marvell recently announced the first automotive grade system-on-chip (SoC) that integrates the latest Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) and vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) capabilities.  Another technology product being offered for automotive use is the InnoDisk SATA 3ME4 Solid-State Drive (SSD) series. Originally designed for industrial systems integrations, these storage drives can withstand the varied temperature ranges of a car, as well as shock and vibration under rugged conditions. Both of these products integrate state-of-the-art encryption to not only keep and store information needed for data-driven vehicles, but keep that information secure from unwanted intrusion.

Marvell and others are working to form standards and adapt secure digital solutions in wireless, connectivity, networking and storage specifically for the automobile, which is even more paramount in self-driving vehicles. Current data center standards, such as Gigabit Ethernet are being developed for automobiles and the industry is stepping up to help make sure that these Data Centers on Wheels are not only safe, but secure.

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NO DEAD ZONES: New Home Networking Products, Based on Marvell G.hn Powerline Technology, Redefine the Home Wi-Fi Experience

By Donna Yasay, VP of Worldwide Business Development, Marvell

You’ve seen it, the dreaded buffering while trying to stream a movie, lag times while gaming or dropped signals as you walk through your home. In fact, you probably know exactly where the dead zones are in your house.  But all this is a thing of the past with the latest products based on Marvell’s Gigabit Home Networking (G.hn) Powerline Communications technology. Marvell G.hn chip sets combine powerline, coax, phone line/twisted pair and optical fiber in a single technology, which can turn a home’s electrical, coaxial and anywire smart grids into high-speed internet and connected devices.

ArrisSURFboard

Take for example the new line of ARRIS routers and extenders, the SURFboard® family of home networking devices with RipCurrent™ G.hn technology.  This new system of routers and extenders, based on Marvell technology, is designed to eliminate the frustrations that have plagued home wireless as more and more family members use more and more devices.  The RipCurrent-enabled routers and extenders use existing powerlines (electrical outlets) in the home to create new hotspots to connect high-bandwidth devices and relieve home Wi-Fi congestion.

ARRIS SURFboard is an easy-to-set up device that can bring gigabit speeds to every room, not just the room nearest to the router.  That means ultrafast Wi-Fi in any room, sharing one internet connection.  Range is no longer an issue and interruptions become non-existent. Now, mom can binge-watch her favorite program, while the teens are gaming or streaming, without suffering the dreaded buffering lag times.  (Where’s dad? He’s shopping the internet for more cool devices.)

And while ARRIS International plc was the top cable modem retailer in 2016, they aren’t the only ones where Marvell G.hn Powerline is playing an integral role. Last summer, Comtrend, a leading designer and manufacturer of broadband communication equipment, launched its first G.hn powerline-only adapter in retail.

COMTREND

G.hn offers the flexibility of providing high bandwidth for in-home networking using both a wired medium and wireless extender setting.  Offering full home connectivity at 1 Gbps and 2 Gbps PHY rates, Marvell G.hn chipsets represent an ideal solution for wireline distribution of bandwidth-intensive and real-time applications like HD-IPTV, VoIP, gaming, video surveillance, multi-room DVR and more. The new 2Gbps chipset offers support for the new ITU-T G.hn 200MHz channel bandwidth, allowing for higher data transmission rates through the multitude of supported connections that G.hn already offers. Marvell’s 2 Gbps G.hn chipsets will enable vendors to build a new generation of solutions for wired IPTV delivery and 802.11ac extenders that will double the throughput and increase the range of existing products.

With no more dead zones, Marvell G.hn powerline technology is helping redefine home networking and improving the home Wi-Fi experience.