Article ID Journal Published Year Pages File Type
460973 Microprocessors and Microsystems 2013 15 Pages PDF
Abstract

The Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol is widely employed in distributed control systems in a number of sectors (including automotive, industrial, medical and satellite systems). In many such sectors, predictable behavior is a key consideration: such a characteristic is usually associated with time-triggered (TT) system architectures rather than with event-triggered solutions which are more common in CAN systems. Previous studies have illustrated how TT “Shared-Clock” (S-C) algorithms can be used in conjunction with commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) microcontrollers for creating reliable distributed control systems at low cost. In such studies, it has generally been assumed that S-C designs will be implemented using a bus topology on a CAN network. Such designs met cost requirements but certain flexibility/reliability issues predominantly presented by their bus topology have made their use controversial in safety–critical applications. In this paper, we demonstrate that the use of a Shared-Clock protocol with a novel CAN-based star topology synthesized from COTS components can improve the flexibility and reliability of CAN-based S-C designs without significantly increasing costs.

► We identify scheduling flexibility issues in time-triggered Shared-Clock designs. ► We also identify reliability issues in such designs due to their CANbus topology. ► We propose a novel CANstar topology and a novel Shared-Clock algorithm. ► Improvements in flexibility and reliability are shown through case studies.

Keywords
Related Topics
Physical Sciences and Engineering Computer Science Computer Networks and Communications
Authors
, ,