Seagate Technology Holdings plc (NASDAQ: STX), a world leader in mass-data storage infrastructure solutions, demonstrated its newly-available mass-capacity data transfer and storage solution, Lyve™ Mobile array, in a Jaguar I-PACE converted by FMCI into self-driving prototypes. The 96TB storage solution transfers massive autonomous vehicle (AV) datasets quickly and securely for AI and ML processing at the edge and the cloud. The demo took place at the Future Mobility Campus Ireland’s (FMCI) Showcase Event, held in Shannon, Ireland.
The development of smart cities should bring safe, sustainable, and connected mobility ecosystems. Innovation in sustainable transport and specifically in Connected, Autonomous, Shared, and Electric (CASE) vehicles promises to help cut emissions through more efficient engine management, reducing congestion, and cutting road traffic deaths, 59% of which are caused by human error according to UK Government statistics.
Carmakers have several major obstacles to overcome before AVs hit roads en masse, and efficient data insight analysis is one. An Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) research vehicle can generate up to 150TB each day, which must be sent back to central AI training facilities. Using a standard “enterprise-class” gigabit (~ 1000 Mbps) connection, it would take a fleet of 10 vehicles up to 150 days to do this. Managing and orchestrating the massive data flows created by autonomous vehicles requires solutions that are as mobile, intelligent, and agile as the data itself.
At FMCI, the prototypes Jaguar I-PACE completed a series of live on-road trials, interacting with connected roads, smart junctions and local infrastructure to gather data. They feature Seagate’s Lyve Mobile array SSD validated and optimized for in-vehicle data movement. It is directly mounted in the vehicle’s trunk and stores all the data in real time, accelerating access to the data collected for analysis and algorithm optimization. Powered by Renovo’s Insight Node, Lyve Mobile array facilitates the data journey from the endpoint to the edge and finally to the core cloud. With 96TB of storage capacity for HDD, 92TB for SSD in a single array and up to 6GB/s transfer speed, Lyve Mobile array transfers mass data sets not only simply and quickly but also in a secure manner thanks to the automatic device locking and industry-standard AES-based hardware encryption features. Its military-grade ruggedized case protects the data transport by ground, air or boat even in extreme conditions such as intense cold and heat.
Jeff Fochtman, Senior Vice President of Business and Marketing, Seagate, said, “Self-driving vehicles are data-guzzlers. The vehicle’s AI must soak up all that data to learn and make decisions. The more data collected and analyzed, the smarter the vehicle. As a result, it must be transferred quickly and securely – which is exactly what Lyve Mobile was designed to do.”
In addition to demoing previously unseen technology, the event will feature speakers from Seagate and other FMCI partners. Seagate’s Fochtman will deliver a keynote on the need for mass data transfer capabilities as data-hungry technologies like AI become increasingly important to society, with AVs being just one application.
John Cormican, General Manager for Shannon Ireland Jaguar Land Rover said: “The FMCI is a great opportunity for us to learn more about autonomy in a real-world setting. The Jaguar I-PACE self-driving prototypes will prove vital in advancing our knowledge of autonomous systems as we prepare for the deployment of next generation technologies on future Jaguar and Land Rover models – whether that is advanced driver assistance systems or mobility-as-a-service software.”
Russel Vickers, CEO of FMCI said: “FMCI is one of the most groundbreaking sites in the world. The research we are carrying out will go a long way towards getting fleets of autonomous vehicles onto public roads, benefiting road safety, reducing congestion, and improving fuel economy. I’d like to thank Seagate and all our partners for their help in bringing autonomous vehicles one step closer to reality.”
