Micron has begun shipping qualification samples of its automotive UFS 4.1 storage solution, marking a significant step forward for the next generation of intelligent vehicles. Built on the company’s G9 NAND technology, this new generation of UFS targets one of the automotive sector’s biggest challenges: sustaining the performance needed for in-vehicle AI, sensor-rich autonomy and demanding cockpit experiences.
A Shift Toward Real AI Workloads Inside the Vehicle
The automotive industry is moving from enhanced infotainment toward genuine AI-driven intelligence inside the cabin and across the vehicle’s edge systems. Features such as natural voice interfaces, predictive safety alerts and personalised cabin profiles rely on fast access to large datasets and machine learning models. Traditional storage has struggled to keep pace with the growing size of neural networks and the constant write pressure created by sensor-heavy perception pipelines.
Micron’s automotive UFS 4.1 aims to address these constraints. The device reaches a bandwidth of 4.2 gigabytes per second, which is double the throughput of its predecessor. This improvement is important for two reasons. It enables faster loading and switching of machine learning models, and it supports the intense write activity generated by lidar, radar and camera systems that record continuous telemetry for ADAS and autonomy stacks.
G9 NAND and the Requirements of Automotive-Grade Storage
The UFS 4.1 solution is built on Micron’s ninth-generation 3D NAND, which is currently the most advanced NAND process to achieve qualification for automotive reliability requirements such as AEC-Q104. Modern vehicles operate under temperature extremes, vibration, long life cycles and sustained workloads, so qualifying a new memory process for this environment is not trivial.
G9 NAND focuses on density, lower latency and improved reliability. These characteristics are important because automotive architectures are becoming more distributed, with multiple compute domains working together. Storage acts as a shared resource for these blocks, and shaving access times or improving durability can contribute directly to system responsiveness and long-term stability.
Performance for Boot, Logging and Model Switching
UFS 4.1 brings improvements in several areas that matter for real automotive deployments. The first is boot time. Micron reports a 30 percent improvement in device boot and an 18 percent improvement in system boot, supported by both the G9 process and proprietary firmware. As more cabin systems move toward real-time interaction, delays during start-up become more noticeable to drivers.
The second is write endurance. In single-level cell mode, the device supports up to 100,000 program and erase cycles, while triple-level cell mode reaches around 3,000 cycles. These levels are essential for platforms that record continuous high-bandwidth telemetry. Data captured during driving is used for immediate perception tasks and uplinked for offline training and refinement.
The third is thermal behaviour. The device maintains reliable operation between minus 40 degrees Celsius and a case temperature of 115 degrees Celsius. This wider envelope allows designers greater freedom when placing storage in thermally challenging parts of the vehicle without the need for large cooling assemblies.
Additional Host Features for Real-World High-Demand Systems
Micron has included a host-initiated defragmentation feature that reorganises data under heavy workloads. This helps maintain low latency and consistent behaviour when multiple tasks compete for storage bandwidth. With the emergence of in-cabin generative AI, larger models and more sensor fusion pipelines, the demand for predictable performance is only increasing.
Functional Safety and Real-World Reliability
Micron has also taken steps to ensure the new UFS 4.1 part fits into the safety and reliability frameworks used in modern vehicles. The device meets Automotive Safety Integrity Level B under ISO 26262, which is typically required for functions that support driver awareness or sensor coordination. It also aligns with ASPICE Level 3 development practices and incorporates security engineering based on ISO and SAE 21434. These standards are becoming the baseline for any component expected to operate for many years while contributing to both safety and software-driven updates.
A notable element is the real-time telemetry layer. Instead of treating storage as a silent component, Micron has built detailed self-reporting into the device. This allows automotive platforms to track signs of cell wear, temperature excursions or irregular write activity long before they affect performance. Fleet operators can use this information to avoid unexpected downtime, while manufacturers can integrate the data into wider health models that support the move toward software-defined vehicles.
Building Toward More Intelligent Mobility
The direction of travel in the industry is clear. Vehicles are becoming more connected, more sensor-driven and more dependent on learning models that evolve throughout their lifetime. Storage plays a central role in that evolution. With UFS 4.1 on G9 NAND, Micron is giving designers the bandwidth, durability and reliability needed to keep these systems responsive. The result is a platform that can handle more complex ADAS pipelines, support richer cabin experiences and manage the expanding flow of sensor data without introducing new bottlenecks.
For drivers, the improvements translate into faster start-up, smarter safety features and a cabin experience that feels more adaptive and more consistent across the life of the vehicle.
Learn more and read the original article on www.micron.com
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