FSAE Electric Racecar Team discovers the value of CAN

Promising Formula Student team, Zips Racing Electric (ZRE), is using CAN for the first time this year, upgrading from an analog communication scheme between the pedal sensors, ECU and motor inverter. Kvaser has supplied a free Kvaser Leaf Light R v2 and access to our support team to help develop and debug the CAN network.

ZRE, from the University of Akron, Ohio, USA, placed 5^th out of 30 in their first competition in Lincoln, Nebraska last year. With a new car for 2020 that incorporates many student-designed PCBs, including the firmware for all microcontrollers used, CAN will allow for robust communication between electric modules and lossless transmission. CAN is also better suited in a noisy environment from the motor and inverter than a direct analog system, while also reducing the size of the wire harness.