CAN is everywhere!

Initially developed by Bosch for in-vehicle networking, the controller area network (CAN) communication protocol is now the most widely deployed communications network in the automotive industry.

Since then, CAN has become an increasingly popular technology within a wide range of other embedded applications. You’ll find CAN based networks in the following systems and beyond: Agricultural, Automotive, Avionics, Building Automation, Construction Machines and Vehicles, Domestic Appliances, Hydraulic Equipment, Industrial Automation, Marine, Material Handling, Medical Equipment, Military, Process Industry, Railway, Telecom, Trucks & Textile Production.

Nowadays, many system components are CAN-enabled, permitting them to send and receive signals over the CAN network. Thus, they are capable of transmitting data about their wear over time. Logging and analysing this information on a CAN bus enables potential problems with CAN-enabled components to be detected before they occur, saving not only on costly repairs, but also avoiding the implications of system failure.

CAN comes in different guises …

CAN networks are not created equally. In the automotive environment, for example, CAN networks can be split into two categories based on the nature of the traffic on the network:
Body control networks, dealing with passenger comfort and convenience systems with a wide range of message identifiers that appear in no particular order or frequency.

Powertrain networks, sending information relating to engine and transmission control. These have a lower number of messages to deal with, but the messages appear very rapidly and very regularly.

When designing hardware and software systems you have to be aware of the differences and the demands in your system. To understand more about how CAN can be applied, visit our ‘Education’ pages.

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