“With advances in artificial intelligence and 5G, the transformation of the intelligent edge is also accelerating. As a result, the benefits of connectivity and computing are spilling over into environments such as industrial applications and high-end automotive experiences. As edge deployments mature, new demands are placed on high-performance memory and storage in these challenging environments, such as extended lifetime, extended operating temperature range and space, and optimized power consumption.

“

As the data and insights generated by billions of devices continue to proliferate, so does the intelligent edge. The industry has recognized the importance of data processing for better insights – not all use cases can afford the latency and cost of returning data to cloud data centers for processing, so the intelligent edge is increasingly seen as a a viable strategic investment. Companies are realizing the importance of real-time data analytics for predictive maintenance and plant optimization, as well as for building more efficient cities and leveraging digitalization.

With advances in artificial intelligence and 5G, the transformation of the intelligent edge is also accelerating. As a result, the benefits of connectivity and computing are spilling over into environments such as industrial applications and high-end automotive experiences. As edge deployments mature, new demands are placed on high-performance memory and storage in these challenging environments, such as extended lifetime, extended operating temperature range and space, and optimized power consumption.

Industry 4.0 is bound to accelerate development.

With supply tightening in 2022, many businesses will realize that smarter infrastructure and applications can help maximize the output of their supply chain networks. The digital trend inseparable from Industry 4.0 will help companies optimize manufacturing and make up for supply chain deficiencies; while computer vision and sound sensors can quickly detect manufacturing defects or problems in factories.

The need to optimize manufacturing will accelerate the development of Industry 4.0 C This is not a new topic, but many companies are only beginning to truly recognize the opportunity. Continued advancements in interconnect technology, WiFi 6 and 5G, and advanced AI chips and software will drive the growth of smart gateways, 5G private networks, edge data centers, and smart devices, and enable better management and interoperability.
The transformation of automotive technology will be faster and faster.

With the increasing popularity of advanced driver assistance functions, consumers will have higher expectations for user experience, coupled with the severe situation of the global supply chain, will jointly promote the automotive industry to enter a new way of thinking.

In the coming year, we will witness the accelerated transformation of traditional technologies trapped in the supply chain to next-generation platforms with innovative products and solutions.

A decade ago, the adoption and validation cycle for a new technology to expand from mainstream non-automotive applications to automotive-grade products was about five years, and now it has been shortened to about one and a half years, greatly accelerating the development of the next generation of automotive technology.

We will also see the automotive industry gradually popularize centralized vehicle architectures.

Electric vehicle (EV) penetration in the U.S. has been lagging behind China and Europe, but in the coming year, the EV market will accelerate growth and become more popular in the U.S. This creates an exciting opportunity for automotive design engineers to accelerate the introduction of entirely new architectures such as centralized and partitioned architectures – whose memory, storage and compute will deliver greater efficiencies compared to highly distributed architectures . They will enable memory and storage to provide greater capacity and higher bandwidth capabilities to support the growing demand for data generation, storage and processing within the vehicle.

Automotive and industrial will be the two fastest-growing sectors in the next few years, and they will perfectly illustrate how connected and smart technologies can enable new applications – where data is rapidly processed where it is generated, resulting in a better experience for users.

author of this article

Kris Baxter
Corporate Vice President and General Manager, Embedded Products Division, Micron Technology