"Tech Tuesdays: SuperSpeed USB is Ready for HD, but not for the Dash" Edmunds Daily

Tech Tuesdays: SuperSpeed USB is Ready for HD, but not for the Dash

The USB interface has been quickly adopted by automakers as a way to connect devices such as iPods via systems like Ford's Sync or for directly accessing digital music and even pictures, as with Chrysler's uconnect tunes. Now a high-speed version is on the horizon that will transfer data at much faster rates.

But it also brings to fore the familiar auto-industry conundrum of keeping pace with the fast-moving consumer-electronics industry. And, of course, the costs involved with doing so.

The USB Implementers Forum has introduced SuperSpeed USB, which transfers data at 5 gigabits per second, as opposed to 480 megabits/second for High Speed USBs now widely in use -- or about 10 times faster. The new USB 3.0 standard should be available by the first quarter of 2010.

This comes as automakers have widely implemented USB 2.0 interfaces into cars, which market research firm iSuppli predicts will be available in a third of all 2009 U.S. vehicles, up 16 percent from 2008. According to SAE International Automotive Engineering Online, with the introduction of SuperSpeed USB, automakers will have to decide whether to begin designing the new standard into vehicles now, which is more costly, or stick with version 2.0 and add USB 3.0 as consumers start to create demand for it.

And risk being caught behind the technology curve.

"The design phase for automakers is long," Jeff Ravenscroft, president of the USB Implementers Forum, told SAE Engineering. "It may make sense for some of them to go directly to SuperSpeed."

Besides allowing people to bring more music into the car on a USB drive and access it more quickly, the advantage of SuperSpeed USB will really come into play when high-definition video becomes more common. "Downloading a 5GB movie using USB 2.0 takes 14 to 15 minutes," Ravenscroft commented. "With SuperSpeed, it will take 16 or 17 seconds." And many analysts believe that the transition to hi-def with not only movies but also portable products like videogames will create increased demand for SuperSpeed USB connections in vehicles.

"Going forward five years, people are going to want high-definition content, especially for rear-seat entertainment," Ravenscroft predicted.

SuperSpeed USB has benefits beyond blazing-fast downloads.The standard allows for bi-directional communication at peak rates, effectively allowing heavy data flow going both ways. Plus, USB 3.0's reduced power consumption means it places less of a burden on a vehicle's electrical system.

It all sounds great, but let's hope we'll see it in dashboards before 2015.