Google’s new Android Automotive update wants to control your car's 'brain' —as Micron predicts cars will soon need 300GB of RAM

• Google announces updated version of Android Automotive OS
• Tech giant hopes software can take care of key car functions
• Cars could eventually require more than 300GB of RAM, Micron says

Google has just announced an updated version of its Android Automotive open-source operating system for vehicles, which it hopes will see the software take care of the "non-safety" parts of today and tomorrow’s Software Defined Vehicles (SDVs).

In recent years, both passenger cars and commercial vehicles have become increasingly more complex. With the advent of electric vehicles and their simplified powertrain architecture, automotive manufacturers have turned towards compute power to both control the vehicle and offer cutting-edge infotainment systems.

Often described as Software Defined Vehicles, the phrase loosely applies to anything that can be updated, improved, diagnosed and fixed remotely, using a data connection within the car to connect to The Cloud.

In a blog post written by Google’s group product manager, Matt Crowley explains that modern cars are quickly becoming “computers on wheels”.

“From pre-heating your car in the morning to using your smartphone as a car key, many of today’s vehicle functions are controlled by software,” he writes.

But modern automotive manufacturers also face a number of hurdles, chiefly as most of them have limited experience in coding and software, so have had to create entire divisions dedicated to rapidly emerging technologies.

Secondly, Crowley says that most automakers are integrating software modules from dozens of different suppliers.

“This fragmented approach means carmakers have to spend time on building infrastructure rather than what truly differentiates them in a fast-moving market,” he says.

As you have likely already predicted, Google and Android want to make this simpler by releasing Android Automotive OS for Software Defined Vehicles (AAOS SDV), which it claims provides an open infrastructure for the "non-safety" parts of a vehicle.

This will include things like next-gen AI voice assistants, climate control and cabin ambience, steering adjustments and infotainment services.

Like Apple with its Apple CarPlay Ultra system, Google and Android want more drivers to harness Android Automotive for the in-car digital experience, while convincing automakers that letting the software giant take care of the tricky parts will streamline its developmental processes

But like Apple CarPlay Ultra, Google might also find there is a pushback from both customers and automakers not keen on Google handling the inevitable reams of driver data flowing through its systems.

Analysis: The downsides of "computers on wheels"

Like it or not, the software defined vehicle revolution is in full swing and, as automakers look towards software to open up new revenue streams, future vehicles are only going to become ever-more complex.

In a recent report by The Register, Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra said that cars will eventually require more than 300GB of RAM to operate, as automakers continue to push towards higher levels of autonomous driving functionality.

Currently, a modern Tesla has between 8 and 16GB of RAM, depending on its age, which is around the same or double that of today’s Apple iPhone.

To achieve a level of autonomy that allows drivers to safely and legally take hands off the wheel and eyes off the road, Mehrotra believes automakers will need introduce almost 20-times that amount, bringing a vehicle more in line with a high-end consumer desktop.

Not only could this massively increase the price of tomorrow’s vehicles, it could also result in memory chip shortages, as the industry struggles to cope with the demand of competing automakers all vying to bring the latest self-driving tech to market.

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