A*STAR's Data Storage Institute Launches Next Generation 5mm Hybrid
Hard Disk Drive
SINGAPORE, November 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --
The "A-Drive", one of the world's thinnest 5mm hybrid hard
drives in a 2.5" form factor, was officially launched by Mr. S.
Iswaran, Minister in the Prime Minister's Office and Second
Minister for Home Affairs and Trade & Industry, to commemorate
the Data Storage Institute's (DSI) 20 years of R&D in the area
of data storage capabilities.
The "A-Drive" represents the next generation of storage
innovation providing capacities of up to 1 TB Hard Disk Drive (HDD)
with 32 GB Solid State Drive (SSD). This potentially allows the
"A-Drive" to store over 250,000 songs in its 5mm body. The
"A-Drive" also addresses limitations of the popular, yet expensive,
flash-based SSD, as well as the conventional HDD for the consumer
and business industry.
DSI's "A-Drive" is set to change the consumer and enterprise
landscape, targeted specifically for tablets, ultrabooks, and
future data centres. With its slim form factor, the "A-Drive" could
fit into tablet devices, greatly expanding its storage space while
extending battery life by up to 30%. The "A-Drive" will be a
cheaper alternative to the SSDs currently used in ultrabooks,
offering the same instant-on capability but with larger storage
capacity. In addition, the "A-Drive" can be extended for enterprise
storage applications, reducing power consumption by up to 50%,
resulting in greener and more efficient data centres with better
optimisation of the already limited rack space.
"Today, our year-long vision of creating a 5mm thin hybrid hard
drive in 2.5" form factor with increased storage capacity and
reduced power consumption at a lower cost for manufacturers has
become a reality," said Dr. Pantelis
Alexopoulos, Executive Director of DSI. "We have managed to
fit an amazing amount of innovation and advanced technology into a
thinner, cheaper, and faster design, and we think the consumer and
enterprise impact will be significant."
One of the main challenges in reducing the thickness of current
7mm hard disk drives by almost 30% without compromising on its
performance and stability is its spindle motor design. To achieve a
reduction in size, DSI researchers developed a proprietary axial
field motor which runs smoother, quieter, more efficiently,
lowering power consumption by up to 70% yet at a fraction of the
cost of SSDs. The motor's design has been patented, along with 30
other unique designs for the "A-Drive". In addition, DSI has
collaborated with multinational corporations and local companies,
such as Seiko Instruments, Miyoshi, and Unisteel, to develop key
components for the "A-Drive".
For more information about DSI, please visit
http://www.dsi.a-star.edu.sg.
Media Enquiries
Ogilvy Public Relations
Gabriel Tan
Tel: +65-6213-6956
e-mail: gabriel.tan@ogilvy.com
Data Storage Institute (DSI)
Melissa Loh
Assistant Manager, Corporate Communications
Tel: +65-6874-6852
e-mail: lohsm@scei.a-star.edu.sg
SOURCE A*STAR Data Storage Institute