The UAV industry is growing continuously and rapidly resulting in the emergence of increasingly complex systems. The requirements for communication protocols are becoming more and more demanding in bandwidth and speed.
While traditional PWM control is a proven solution for small drones, when it comes to large vehicles with long cable distances, CAN Bus is the preferred option to ensure robust communications.
CAN Bus is a serial communications protocol defined by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
It was originally developed by the automotive industry to replace the complex wiring involved in a two-wire (parallel) bus. It is a message-based protocol that allows individual systems, devices and controllers within a network to communicate without the aid of a parent device.
Devices and controllers connected to the CAN Bus can transmit and receive data from the bus. A message transmitted by one unit is received by all units connected to the bus. A data message is transmitted as a frame. In each frame, the message is labeled by a unique identifier throughout the network. Each unit will have a filter to accept messages relevant to its operation.
Several advantages distinguish the CAN Bus interface from other communication protocols, such as, high speed operations (25kbps – 1Mbps), high immunity to electromagnetic interference and high reliability due to the fact that it requires very little wiring and is more robust than traditional interfaces. In addition, CAN is one of the most reliable communication networks used in the industry.
Why use Smart Bus Isolator for protection?
Smart CAN Isolator is a highly reliable CAN bus isolator designed for use in critical applications where isolation, repetition or safety is required. It provides high voltage galvanic isolation up to 3000 Vrms. Due to the isolation, ground loops are eliminated, providing increased communication reliability by avoiding current recirculation in the ground paths.
The system has a built-in microcontroller that performs real-time monitoring of the CAN bus and, in case of anomaly or malfunction, disconnects the system, releasing the bus.
This function is very useful in critical applications where the malfunction of a device can block the CAN bus with the consequence that all devices connected to it stop working. In such cases, the microcontroller will detect the anomaly and prevent the failure of the entire bus. Redundancy and isolation in the system power supply make the system robust against a single point of failure.
The intelligent CAN Isolator can handle high speeds. Thanks to the built-in real-time microcontroller, this product can also be configured as a filter, allowing only certain messages to reach the other side of the bus.
The Veronte Can Bus Isolator is specially developed to operate as a protector of the Can Bus networks to which it is to be connected in order to isolate any faults occurring on any component or subnetwork.
This system is also capable of filtering the data that is being sent between two connections of the device and that way only relevant information will be passing through the Veronte Can Bus Isolator.
Some of the faults that can be protected with the use of this intelligent device are the following:
- High Reliability
- Babbling Idiot Failure
- Message Filtering
- Subnetworks
- ESD Protection
- CAN Bus Repeater
- CAN device deactivation
About Embention: Leading drone company, being our main area of expertise the development of UAV autopilots and components and the manufacturing of ready-to-fly drones for professional and military applications.
