Guide to controller area network (CAN) technology

“A Comprehensible Guide to Controller Area Network,” by Wilfred Voss, has recently been published by Copperhill Technologies Corp . This book is claimed to be the most thoroughly researched and most complete work on CAN technology. CAN, a serial network technology that was originally designed for the automotive industry, is now a popular bus in industrial automation and other applications. CAN bus, used primarily in embedded systems, is a network technology that offers fast communication among microcontrollers up to real-time requirements. It eliminates the need for the much more expensive and complex technology of a dual-ported RAM.

Examples of the books’ content include:• An overview;• Main characteristics and benefits;• Detailed architecture of message frames;• Message broadcasting;• Bus arbitration principle; and• Data transfer synchronization mechanisms.

The author is president of Greenfield, MA-based esd electronics Inc., a firm specializing in CAN technology. He has worked in the CAN industry since 1997 and has conducted numerous seminars on CAN and CANopen.

The book is available for $20 plus shipping and handling. For further information visit click here .

— Richard Phelps, senior editor, Control Engineering [email protected]