Design and Evaluation of Controller Area Network for Automotive Applications

Abstract

Now-a-days, as computerization of automotive increases, the need for more/advanced electronic control units (ECUs) is growing. Vehicles are increasingly behaving like computers with wheels. Due to the abundance use of ECUs in cars, electronic system design is becoming complicated day by day. As a consequence, information processing in such complex systems faces interruptions. Therefore, there is a need for a system which will be the connective tissue between a vehicle's computers and different sensors. Controller Area Network (CAN) is such an embedded system to bring communication and connectivity in automobile system together. Optimization of CAN bus is a concerning issue because of the recent demands such as hybrid, electric propulsion, or driver assistance that involves more stringent real-time constraints. In this paper, we introduce an optimized CAN bus for vehicle automation through microcontroller based design and implementation. Multiple modules of a vehicle are modeled using CAN bus. The proposed CAN bus system is evaluated by analyzing the frame response time using “RTaW-Sim:” a CAN simulation and configuration tool. Experimental results show that the proposed CAN system helps decrease the frame response time by up to 45% when compared with a traditional system. The CAN bus simulation platform using RTaW-Sim also helps reduce the design cost and improve the systems quality.