CAN FD reaches CD status

The latest incarnation of the Controller Area Network (CAN), CAN with Flexible Data-Rate (CAN FD)**, has now reached Committee Draft status. This is a first step in the ratification process which will see the ISO CD 11898-1 standard committee vote and make comments on a proposal from the responsible ISO task force on how the new standard will be implemented. The deadline for ISO to receive votes from committee member countries is 8th July 2014.

In parallel, the ISO task force are updating the conformance test plan for CAN and CAN FD. The time taken to develop an accepted standard will depend upon the results of the ballot and comments from the standards committee.

** CAN FD increases CAN data throughput partly byincreasing the number of bytes in each CAN-frame (from 8 to 64 bytes) and partly by increasing the bitrate in the DLC, data and CRC message fields. The ISO CD 11898-1 allows for three implementations of CAN: Classical CAN not tolerating FD frames, Classical CAN not transmitting FD frames but tolerating FD frames and a full-fledged implementation of CAN FD.

Kvaser technical proposal could facilitate the switch to CAN-FD