CAN Info Mail
This monthly email is for all CAN fellows.
December 2020
A word from the CiA Managing Director
What a year: The coronavirus changed a lot and kept CiA busy. In spring, CiA staff worked many days at home. This was a new experience with some obstacles. With the 2nd pandemic wave, we are back in home office with fewer challenges.
Most of the CiA meetings took place virtually and nearly all business trips were cancelled. The international CAN Conference (iCC) was postponed. I do not know yet, if the postponed iCC, will be held in Baden-Baden (Germany). The decision needs to be taken before the end of this year by CiA’s Business Committee. It could be possible that the conference will be organized as a virtual event or it will be postponed again. I have some doubts that a conference with more than 100 participants is possible in next June.
Regarding fairs, the Embedded World 2021, which we normally participate in, is organized as a digital exhibition with an online conference. I will present online my paper about CAN XL. The postponed Innotrans 2020 tradeshow has been rescheduled once more. Now, it is planned for 2022 in Berlin, Germany. Some of the CiA specification developments are delayed due to the fact that it was not possible or allowed to schedule face-to-face meetings. Usually, e-meetings are less effective than presence meetings. Especially, if we consider that the discussions during the breaks and in the evenings (in case of multi-day meetings) are very important for the progress of specifications. Nevertheless, CAN XL specifications made progress. Some of the CAN XL documents are close to be released CiA-internally as Draft Specification Proposals (DSP). Beginning of November, a first running prototype network was shown in a video at the end of a CAN XL meeting.
Our publications suffer from the decrease of advertisements. Nevertheless, the CAN Newsletter editors provide the readers with the same quality of CAN-related information. The number of visitors and downloads of CAN Newsletter articles have not been decreased significantly. We are looking forward to better times regarding the income from our publications. Then we will increase the number of articles to the normal level. The outlook to the next year is challenging. The Covid-19 pandemic is not over. I hope you and your family are not affected directly. The days up to the end of the year will be still challenging. Nevertheless, enjoy the holiday season, even if the restrictions in your country are hard. Stay healthy.
Commander and responder
CiA and SAE have decided to use “commander” and “responder” instead of “master” respectively ”slave” in combination with “network”, “device”, and “node”. Both organizations are committed to use inclusive language in their specifications.
Standards for commercial vehicle body builders
Body builders for commercial vehicles are facing a huge variety of applications. Sometimes such truck and trailer bodies are very specific and the volume is very low. Standardization of CAN-based interfaces is highly demanded. Bodies for refuse collecting vehicles are standardized in the EN 16815 norm, which is based on CANopen. It is also known as CleANopen application profile.
Additionally, DIN (German standardization body) has standardized CAN-based interfaces for equipment used in fire-fighting trucks. The DIN 14700 series is now under review. It is based on CANopen with some limited functionality. Another German standard, DIN 4630, specifies J1939/CANopen interfaces for several dedicated body applications (e.g. tail lifts and vehicle-mounted cranes) and a telematics unit. The standard also standardizes the gateway to the in-vehicle gateway unit. In all these standardization committees, CiA staff participate actively. For more information, you may contact CiA office.
CAN Newsletter magazine
The December issue of the CAN Newsletter magazine focuses on CAN XL. It contains articles on the CAN XL data link layer protocol and the physical layer options. Furthermore, two articles provide ideas how to use CAN XL networks from the viewpoint of higher layer protocols. The articles can be downloaded individually or you can download the entire magazine.
New videos on Youtube
CiA has its own Youtube channel. The following movies have been uploaded recently:
Online seminar in German
- 2020-12-03: CANopen safety (online seminar)
Webinar in English
- 2020-12-15: SAE J1939-based solutions – status and future
Webinar in Chinese
- 2020-12-15: CAN FD device and system design
CAN Newsletter Online
- CiA 1311-1: Electronic description for CANopen FD devices. The nonprofit CiA (CAN in Automation) association has released the CiA 1311-1 specification. The document provides the XML schema Definition for CANopen FD profiles.
Other recommended CAN Newsletter Online articles:
New CiA members since the last CiA Info Mail (CIM)
- AVL List (AT)
- Becker Avionics Polska (PL)
- Data Panel (US)
- ESI Motion (US)
- Iftools (DE)
- Shanghai Ayan Industry System (CN)
CiA has 732 members (December 01, 2020).
CiA Product Guides
Renewed entries
CANopen: Beckhoff Automation, DIS Sensors, Emotas, Topcon Electronics
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