Flash memory manager is automotive luxury

Siemens VDO Automotive has integrated FlashFX, Datalight's Flash memory manager, into a new automotive navigation system.

Siemens VDO Automotive has integrated FlashFX, Datalight's Flash memory manager, into a new automotive navigation system.

The navigation system is being designed exclusively for a luxury automobile that is scheduled for worldwide release in 2002.

FlashFX offers a fault-tolerant file system, which provides reliable data storage that is critical for real time embedded devices such as navigation systems where an unexpected power failure could result in a loss of data.

NMI Electronics of England is the system integrator working with Siemens VDO on this project.

"Our experience has shown that FlashFX is the most comprehensive Flash memory manager for use with Flash devices", said Kevin Heawood, VP of Marketing at NMI.

"FlashFX capabilities can drastically reduce development time by providing an out-of-box solution to problems that have previously required a time-intensive, custom-engineered solution".

Choosing a Flash memory manager is a complex process requiring a great deal of expertise in developing embedded systems.

Siemens VDO turned to NMI for a recommendation.

NMI has successfully used Datalight products for over a year in several different applications and feels that it's an ideal solution for any Windows CE application using Flash memory.

"Our product development schedule for this project was very tight", said Martin Thoone, Executive Vice President Research and Development at Siemens VDO.

"Consequently, reliable software operation and responsiveness to our technical requirements were among our top concerns in selecting vendors to support our project.

Datalight has provided the technology and engineering support that we needed to achieve our development goals".

FlashFX solves design challenges faced by automotive application developers.

Reliable data storage and product life cycle are key issues to address when designing a device intended for installation in an automotive application.

Power interruptions due to low batteries or harsh conditions in embedded applications are quite common, requiring the Flash media management system be robust.

If an unexpected power outage occurs during an update, there could be adverse ramifications such as loss of data that's currently being written, Datalight's patented variable block formatting (VBF), included in FlashFX, provides a write-protection feature that makes it easy to recover OS images, data and registry files in the event of a power failure.

If the Flash is not sufficiently managed to ensure optimal usage, the life cycle of the device can be compromised.

FlashFX provides VBF and Datalight's patented bad block management (BBM), which perform key functions such as wear-levelling and garbage collection.

In applications that require many data updates, there are a high number of write-erase cycles to the Flash device.

Over time, these cycles wear down the Flash sectors resulting in data loss and eventually, device failure.

Wear-levelling ensures that Flash usage is evenly distributed across sectors in the entire Flash device, extending the life of the Flash memory.

Garbage collection acts as a "defrag" utility like you would see in a PC.

It cleans up the fragmented areas during normal write operations to free up space in the Flash disk for future use.

"Our OEM customers have their own areas of specialisation, and rely on our expertise to assist them with the intricacies of Flash memory management", said Datalight's President, Roy Sherrill.

"Siemens VDO knows navigation systems and infotainment solutions for automotive applications, we know Flash memory.

It just makes sense for us to join together and focus on our specific core competencies".

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