Industry Expert Blogs

July 26, 2021 -- On July 6, 2021, the CAN in Automation (CiA) industry group sponsored the first Plugfest for the new CAN XL protocol.

Fraunhofer IPMS’ Arty A7 – 100T board and system diagram. (Source: Fraunhofer IPMS)

The CAN XL protocol specification (CiA 610-1) was just formally introduced in June at the International CAN Conference. Three vendors with CAN XL IP cores participated in the Plugfest: Bosch, Vector, and CAST partner Fraunhofer IPMS (developer of the CAN XL IP we have been shipping for some time). Infineon and NXP also participate—with CAN-XL capable PHYs (CAN-SIC XL transceivers)—and Rhode & Schwarz provided oscilloscopes and testing gear.

IPMS brought an FPGA-based platform including:

• A processing subsystem using the EMSA5-FS 32-bit Embedded RISC-V Functional Safety Processor,
• A TSN-EP TSN Ethernet Endpoint Controller (not exercised in the Plugfest), and
• Four instances of the CAN-CTRL CAN 2.0, CAN FD, and CAN XL Bus Controller.

The challenging testing mimicked real-world systems by combining the vendor boards in different topologies and at different bit rates. Traditional CAN and CAN FD signals were also part of the mix. In all cases, the participants were satisfied with the results.

Find details and read more about the Plugfest in the CiA’s report: CAN XL PLUGFEST: Three IP cores under test. See more photos from the event below.

Participating in multi-vendor plugfests and other testing opportunities is an important part of the preparation we do to help ensure customer success with the cores we offer. For example, the CAN bus controller IP has undergone a half dozen or so CIA plugfests for its various capabilities going back over five years. Fraunhofer has also successfully taken the TSN Ethernet IP we offer to multiple plugfests, including those run by the Industrial Internet Consortium (IIC) and the Labs Network Industry 4.0.

Engineers from six firms ready to test the functionality and interoperability of their respective CAN XL systems. (Source: CiA)

Fraunhofer IPMS’ Ralf Hildebrandt is ready for the Plugfest. (Source: Fraunhofer IPMS)

Fraunhofer IPMS board featuring two CAN XL buses undergoing testing at the Plugfest. (Source: CiA)

A system with a double star topology undergoes testing. (Source: Fraunhofer IPMS)