CAN in Automation

CAN in Automation, commonly abbreviated CiA, is an international nonprofit organization focused on the development, coordination, and support of communication technologies based on the Controller Area Network (CAN) bus. Its membership includes users and manufacturers of CAN-related systems and equipment, bringing together companies that apply CAN in products with those that develop hardware, software, and communications solutions for the technology. The organization is based in Germany and serves an international membership and technical community. CiA's work extends beyond the underlying CAN specification. The organization provides a forum in which member companies cooperate on higher-layer protocols, application profiles, recommendations, and related technical specifications. These activities are organized through interest groups and associated special interest groups. The groups address areas including CANopen, CANopen FD, device and application profiles, the physical and data-link layers, safety and security, and the SAE J1939 ecosystem. This structure allows participants to work on both general protocol evolution and domain-specific requirements. A central part of CiA's role is the preparation and support of technical specifications for interoperable CAN-based systems. CANopen is one of its best-known protocol families, providing application-layer communication and device-profile concepts for distributed embedded systems. CANopen FD extends that work for systems using CAN FD, the later CAN variant that permits larger payloads and higher data throughput than classical CAN. CiA also supports work on profiles and recommendations intended to improve interoperability among devices from different suppliers. The organization reports participation from companies around the world; the referenced Wikipedia description counted approximately 650 member companies in 2018. Its membership-based development model gives employees of participating companies a direct role in technical working groups. CiA representatives also participate in broader international standardization activities involving organizations such as ISO, IEC, CEN, Cenelec, and SAE when those activities concern CAN technology. In addition to specifications and recommendations, CiA acts as an information and knowledge-sharing organization. It publishes the CAN Newsletter in downloadable PDF form and maintains CAN Newsletter Online, providing industry-oriented coverage and technical information about CAN-related developments. Its public identity is therefore that of a standards and industry association rather than a conventional consumer brand or product manufacturer. The organization’s principal value lies in coordinating technical expertise, encouraging interoperability, and maintaining a common framework for the adoption of CAN-based communication across industrial and embedded applications.

CAN in Automation developed as an international users' and manufacturers' organization supporting the wider adoption and technical development of Controller Area Network technology. Rather than operating as a conventional manufacturer, CiA provides an institutional setting in which companies working with CAN can cooperate on protocols, profiles, recommendations, and related interoperability work. Its activities are centered on higher-layer functions built on CAN and on the practical requirements that arise when CAN-based devices and systems are integrated across suppliers and application sectors. The organization’s technical work is conducted through interest groups formed around specific areas of CAN technology. Identified groups include IG CANopen, IG CANopen FD, IG profiles, IG layer 1/2, IG safety/security, and IG J1939. These groups can establish special interest groups for narrower subjects. Such special interest groups develop dedicated CiA specifications and recommendations, including device and application profiles for CANopen and CANopen FD. This working-group model connects the organization’s published technical material to the engineering expertise of member companies. CANopen became a major focus of CiA’s work by defining a higher-layer communication framework and profile approach for distributed embedded systems. The organization also supports CANopen FD, reflecting the emergence of CAN FD and its expanded payload and throughput capabilities. Work on profiles helps describe how particular classes of devices and applications should communicate, while activities concerning safety, security, and the lower communication layers address additional technical and system-level requirements. The J1939 interest group links CiA’s activities to an important CAN-based protocol environment used in vehicle and machinery applications. CiA also developed an external role in the standardization community. Its representatives support international activities related to CAN at organizations including ISO, IEC, CEN, Cenelec, and SAE. This role places the association between industrial implementation and formal standards work, allowing practical experience from users and manufacturers to inform broader technical discussions. By 2018, the organization was described as having approximately 650 member companies from around the world. Membership is significant because CiA specifications are developed within its interest groups in cooperation with employees of participating companies. The resulting material is intended to promote consistent communication behavior and interoperability among CAN-based products and systems. Alongside technical development, CiA maintains an information function through the CAN Newsletter and CAN Newsletter Online. These publications communicate developments in the CAN community and provide accessible technical and industry information. The organization’s continuing activities therefore combine membership coordination, collaborative specification development, participation in standards work, and public dissemination of knowledge about CAN networking.

• 2018

  Membership described at approximately 650 companies

  [1]CAN in Automationen.wikipedia.org

  The organization was described as having about 650 member companies from around the world, illustrating the international scope of its users' and manufacturers' network.

An international nonprofit standards and industry association for CAN-based networking, positioned as a coordination, specification-development, and knowledge-sharing body for users and manufacturers.

• Higher-layer communication protocol

  CANopen

  CANopen is a CiA-supported higher-layer protocol family for CAN-based embedded and distributed systems. It provides a structured basis for communication between devices and is complemented by device and application profiles. CiA interest groups and special interest groups develop related specifications and recommendations to support interoperability and consistent behavior across implementations.

• CAN FD higher-layer protocol

  CANopen FD

  CANopen FD extends the CANopen approach for networks using CAN FD. It addresses communication environments that use the newer CAN variant and is supported through CiA interest-group work, including dedicated profiles, specifications, and recommendations for devices and applications.

• Technical publication

  CAN Newsletter

  The CAN Newsletter is CiA's technical and industry publication in downloadable PDF form. It communicates information about CAN-related technologies, organizational activities, and developments in the surrounding engineering community.

• Online technical publication

  CAN Newsletter Online

  CAN Newsletter Online is CiA's web-based information channel for CAN technology and industry developments. It complements the downloadable newsletter and provides an online point of access to the organization's technical and community-oriented publishing activity.

1. 1CAN in Automationen.wikipedia.org
2. 2CAN in Automation official websitecan-cia.org