Control Busses

Automotive control busses enable communication between ECUs, sensors, actuators, etc. using well defined protocols. These protocols are deployed using electrical, optical, or wireless signaling. As the amount of data being transferred in-vehicle is rapidly increasing, control busses are evolving to meet the new demands.

Today’s vehicles utilize an array of different protocols for in-vehicle communication.

  • CAN – in-vehicle networks controlling window/seat operation, engine management, brake control, etc.
  • CAN FD – extends the bit rate of CAN via a flexible data rate
  • LIN – communication between components in vehicles, provides a cheaper alternative to CAN
  • FlexRay – utilizes two independent data channels for mission critical data transmission
  • SENT – point-to-point scheme for communication with sensors
  • MOST – electrically or optically based ring topology to transport data for infotainment
  • Automotive Ethernet – provides Ethernet connectivity in vehicles; used for infotainment, ADAS and can serve as Ethernet backbone

Common Control Bus Issues:

  • Serial bus protocol errors (ie: error frames or CRC errors)
  • Reflections caused from improper termination
  • Slow rise times causing timing errors in cause-effect relationships
  • Physical layer abnormalities – runts, glitches, etc.

The Teledyne LeCroy Solution

Teledyne LeCroy oscilloscopes can be equipped with a suite of protocol-specific measurement and eye diagram packages to provide unparalleled insight into serial data anomalies.

These unique packages complement the industry’s most powerful trigger/decode software providing the ability to extract decoded data and plot over time, perform bus timing measurements, and create eye diagrams for testing against standard or custom masks.

Use Cases

  1. Digital data extraction and graphing of CAN wheel speed information
  2. Detect a rogue message on a bus that is outside a list of specified message IDs
  3. Isolate signal integrity issues coming from a specific node on the bus
  4. Automated compliance testing of PHYs for Automotive Ethernet, USB, MOST, etc.
  5. Margin testing of different cable lengths and network topologies using eye diagrams and mask testing
  6. Corner-case testing of timing relationships between two specified events using long acquisitions and automated measurements (ie: message to analog, analog to message, message to message)

Automotive Technology Center

The Teledyne LeCroy Automotive Technology Center is the premier Bluetooth device testing and services partner, with an enormous device library comprising 3000+ devices including coverage for every major car model.

Teledyne LeCroy Automotive Technology Center
27007 Hills Tech Court
Farmington Hills, Michigan 48331

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