CAN 2020: The future of CAN technology

CiA has announced a new activity called CAN 2020. This event is all about the future of CAN FD, CANopen FD, J1939 on CAN FD, etc.

The CAN protocol has been introduced in 1986. The first cars using CAN networks were launched five years later: The legendary S-class model W140 by Mercedes. In 2016, we expect an annual installation of additional 1,8 billion CAN interfaces.

But what is about the future? When can we expect CAN FD on the roads?

CAN FD has been introduced officially in 2012 at the 13th international CAN Conference on the Hambach castle when the automotive industry required more bandwidth for CAN networks. Since then first CAN FD-capable semiconductors have been developed. The first cars using CAN FD will appear in 2019/2020. CAN FD will replace step-by-step Classical CAN. No doubt: You can still run CAN FD with a single bit-rate up to 1 Mbit/s. But you can use longer frames with a payload up to 64 byte.

In the first CAN FD generation, the automotive industry will use data-phase bit-rates up to 2 Mbit/s in star-like or hybrid topologies. After gaining some experiences, the carmakers will increase the speed to 5 Mbit/s and use some dedicated ringing suppression circuitries. Non-automotive users may choose more strict linear topology with very short stubs, in order to reduce ringing on the bus-lines.

Since CiA will inform its members and associated CAN fellows always about CAN FD opportunities, we will organize so-called CAN 2020 events. In these events the CAN FD technology is described and further requirements are collected and the next steps are discussed.

The participation for members is free-of-charge. Non-members have to pay a small fee (€ 100,00) to compensate the expenses. CiA is a nonprofit association and therefore does not intend to make any profit.

The content of the CAN 2020 event covers basic technical information on CAN FD, the impact on higher-layer protocols including CANopen, J1939, etc., and the challenges of system designers, when using higher bit-rates. The event is dedicated for decision makers in device development, technical marketing, and system design.

First events are scheduled in:
  • Nuremberg (DE) on May 10th
  • Birmingham (GB) on May 13th
  • Berlin (DE) on September 27th
  • Lyon (FR) on October 6th
  • Essen (DE) on October 27th
  • Utrecht (NL) on November 8th
Events in Chicago, Atlanta, and Vancouver are planned.