CANape is a software tool from Vector Informatik

Vector Informatik

Vector Informatik develops software tools and components for networking of electronic systems based on the serial bus systems CAN, LIN, FlexRay, MOST, Ethernet and SAE J1708 as well as on CAN-based protocols such as SAE J1939, SAE J1587, ISO 11783, NMEA 2000, ARINC 825, CANaerospace, CANopen and...

. This development software, widely used by OEMs and ECU suppliers of automotive industries
, is used to calibrate algorithm

Algorithm

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm is an effective method expressed as a finite list of well-defined instructions for calculating a function. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning...

s in ECUs

Electronic control unit

In automotive electronics, electronic control unit is a generic term for any embedded system that controls one or more of the electrical systems or subsystems in a motor vehicle....

 at runtime.

Description

In calibrating ECUs, control behavior is modified for different vehicle models or variants. This is not done by making changes to the program code, but instead by changing the ECU’s parameterization. This involves the use of measurement and calibration systems such as CANape in the laboratory, on test benches or in vehicles during test trials. To evaluate the effects of changes to parameters, development engineers access the relevant process variables with conventional measurement technology at sensor

Sensor

A sensor is a device that measures a physical quantity and converts it into a signal which can be read by an observer or by an instrument. For example, a mercury-in-glass thermometer converts the measured temperature into expansion and contraction of a liquid which can be read on a calibrated...

s and actuator

Actuator

An actuator is a type of motor for moving or controlling a mechanism or system. It is operated by a source of energy, usually in the form of an electric current, hydraulic fluid pressure or pneumatic pressure, and converts that energy into some kind of motion. An actuator is the mechanism by which...

s and read out the data from the ECU. Measured data internal to the ECU, e.g. intermediate results of a computational function, can be accessed via the ECU’s standard interfaces (CAN

Controller Area Network

Controller–area network is a vehicle bus standard designed to allow microcontrollers and devices to communicate with each other within a vehicle without a host computer....

, FlexRay

FlexRay

FlexRay is an automotive network communications protocol developed by the . It is designed to be faster and more reliable than CAN and TTP, but is also more expensive...

, LIN

Local Interconnect Network

The LIN-Bus is a vehicle bus standard or computer networking bus-system used within current automotive network architectures....

, Ethernet

Ethernet

Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced competing wired LAN technologies....

) via proprietary hardware interfaces. A typical use case for calibration with CANape is online calibration. This involves modifying parameters directly in the ECU. The resulting control characteristic can be measured and checked directly. Using this approach, measured data from the ECU or physical measurement variables on or in the vehicle can be precisely analyzed to determine the effects of each individual change.

Features

All functions required to modify parameter values are implemented as standard features in CANape: Measuring, calibrating, administering, evaluating, flashing. CANape also enables symbolic access to data and functions accessible via the diagnostic protocol, and it supports calibration over XCP on FlexRay.
Options extend the functional features of CANape by enabling access to models at runtime in Simulink

Simulink

Simulink, developed by MathWorks, is a commercial tool for modeling, simulating and analyzing multidomain dynamic systems. Its primary interface is a graphical block diagramming tool and a customizable set of block libraries. It offers tight integration with the rest of the MATLAB environment and...

, functional bypassing, optical verification of object detection algorithms in developing driver assistance systems, visualization of a vehicle’s GPS position and an ASAM MCD3 interface.

Versions

Version 1.0 was released in 1996. Up to Version 6.0 the product was known as CANape Graph. The latest version of CANape is 10.0 (revision level: August 2011).

Supported Standards

Internal ECU parameters are accessed via standardized measurement and calibration protocols such as CCP (CAN Calibration Protocol) and XCP (Universal Measurement and Calibration Protocol). CANape was the first measurement and calibration tool to enable access over XCP on CAN and XCP on FlexRay.

Supported ASAM standards, status as of April 2010::

• AE MCD-1 XCP
• XCP on CAN Interface Reference
• XCP on Ethernet Interface Reference
• XCP on FlexRay Interface Reference
• XCP on SxI Interface Reference
• XCP on USB Interface Reference
• AE MCD-1 CCP
• AE MCD-2MC ASAP2/A2L
• AE MCD-2D ODX
• AE MCD-2 FIBEX
  Fibex
  The Field Bus Exchange Format is being adopted by the automotive industry for its ease of data/information exchange. FIBEX is an XML-based standardised format used for representing the networks used in the automobile. It has extensibility required for the various network protocols used. It is...
  
  
• AE MCD-3
• COM/DCOM Interface Reference
• ASAP3 (Automation/Optimisation Interface)
• MDF

Other supported standards:

• KWP2000 on K-Line
• ISO 14230 (KWP2000 on CAN) and ISO 14229 (UDS)
• CAN with DBC description format
• FlexRay Communications System Specification
• LIN
• MOST

If a development task requires a high measurement data throughput of up to 5MByte/s, Vector’s VX1000 System can be used to access data over microcontroller-specific data trace and debug interfaces.

External links

• CANape on the web site of Vector
• ASAM (Association for Standardisation of Automation and Measuring Systems) – CCP and XCP at standard category "ASAM AE (Automotive Electronics) – Software Development, Connection and Use of Controllers"