Toshiba Intends to Enter Into HDD for Industrial Applications

Toshiba Europe Storage Device Division stated its intention to bring the full benefits of high performance, high capacity small form factor hard disk drive technology to industrial markets.

With the rise of automated manufacturing processes, automating ticketing machines, self service/mobile Point-of-Sale retail machines and the widespread use of data capture equipment such as CCTV cameras have led to a data explosion within this sector. To answer the challenges faced by growing levels of data generation, industrial equipment designers and procurement officers are seeking a cost effective and high performance storage solution that delivers the necessary capacity that they can trust to work effectively regardless of the operating environment or application.

Whilst solid state and flash memory has to date provided a simple solution for embedded industrial applications it is fast approaching its limit to deliver large capacities cost effectively. For industrial system designers, the quality of components is high priority. Industrial systems must work over extended periods of time without service or human intervention. Therefore the components required must operate with minimum downtime and maximum reliability.

Hard disk technology can deliver against such demanding requirements whilst offering a simple solution for storing a tremendous amount of legacy data locally.

As part of its portfolio of drives, Toshiba recently introduced a premiere range of Temperature Enhanced HDDs. The new drives feature improved capacity and provide alternative temperature ranges to assist industrial machine manufacturers and after market suppliers designing robust, storage-hungry automated and industrial applications. The drives can withstand temperature ranges from -30°C to +85°C. The wide temperature specifications and humidity control provide unsurpassed reliability amid extreme operating conditions.

The underlying technology in Toshiba TED is similar to its range of automotive drives which support a variety of applications, such as GPS navigation, digital music and video and other telematic systems. Such technology has already proven to be a huge success within the automotive sector where Toshiba has more than 10 years experience and to date has shipped over seven million units worldwide and claimed 85 per cent market share.

As with number one total units sold as of October 2007, according to Source Techno Research Co Ltd. in the industrial sector, Toshiba offers a range of hard drives with different specifications and drive speeds to suit the needs of many different applications and system requirements.

In Germany, where a high percentage of Europe’s leading automotive manufacturers are based and where the provision of quality components is fundamental, Toshiba automotive grade hard disk drives have been qualified for implementation in almost all of the major car manufacturers’ high-end models. Many of these models will be available for purchase throughout 2008.

“Hard disk drive technology has consistently proven to be a tremendous enabler for numerous markets,” explained Martin Larrson, Vice President and General Manager, Toshiba Europe Storage Device Division. “When we introduced our 1.8-inch form factor drives we helped designers bring to market highly portable consumer electronics that could store entire collections of digital media. We then helped our automotive OEM partners take in car entertainment systems to an entirely new level. We now see a similar demand for data storage in industrial applications and have a full range of HDDs with the right specification to meet our customers’ specific storage needs.”