CAN Communication in Simulink

Vehicle network communication in Simulink^® using CAN

The Vehicle Network Toolbox™ block library includes sets of blocks that allow you to perform CAN or CAN FD communication in Simulink models.

Blocks

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CAN

CAN Configuration	Configure parameters for specified CAN device
CAN Pack	Pack individual signals into CAN message
CAN Receive	Receive CAN messages from specified CAN device
CAN Transmit	Transmit CAN message to selected CAN device
CAN Unpack	Unpack individual signals from CAN messages
CAN Replay	Replay logged CAN messages
CAN Log	Log received CAN messages

CAN FD

CAN FD Configuration	Configure parameters for specified CAN FD device
CAN FD Pack	Pack individual signals into message for CAN FD bus
CAN FD Unpack	Unpack individual signals from CAN FD messages
CAN FD Receive	Receive CAN FD messages from specified CAN FD device
CAN FD Transmit	Transmit CAN FD message to selected CAN FD device
CAN FD Log	Log received CAN FD messages
CAN FD Replay	Replay logged CAN FD messages

Functions

`canMessageBusType`	Create Simulink CAN message bus
`canFDMessageBusType`	Create Simulink CAN FD message bus
`canMessageReplayBlockStruct`	Convert CAN messages for use as CAN Replay block output

Topics

CAN Communication Workflows in Simulink

Common CAN model workflows.

Vehicle Network Toolbox Simulink Blocks

Introduction to the Vehicle Network Toolbox block library.

Open the Vehicle Network Toolbox Block Library

How to access the block library in Simulink.

Build CAN Communication Simulink Models

Examples of using Vehicle Network Toolbox blocks.

Create Custom CAN Blocks

Create custom Receive and Transmit blocks to use with hardware not directly supported by the toolbox.

Supported Block Features

Supported features of blocks in the Vehicle Network Toolbox block library.

Featured Examples

Periodic CAN Communication

Uses MathWorks Virtual CAN channels to set up periodic transmit and reception of CAN messages, using Simulink®. The Virtual channels are connected in a loopback configuration.

Open Script

Event-Based CAN Transmission in Simulink

Use event-based CAN message transmission in Simulink with Vehicle Network Toolbox. This feature allows for CAN and CAN FD message transmission when a change in data from one time step to the next is detected.

Open Live Script

Set up Communication Between Host and Target Models

Set up CAN communication between host-side CAN Vector blocks and target models. This example uses: The Embedded Coder™ product with CANcaseXL hardware to open and run the model.

Open Script

Log and Replay CAN Messages

Log and replay CAN messages using MathWorks Virtual CAN channels in Simulink®. You can update this model to connect to supported hardware on your system.

Open Script

Basic CAN FD Communication

Uses MathWorks Virtual CAN FD channels to set up transmission and reception of CAN FD messages, using Simulink®. The Virtual channels are connected in a loopback configuration.

Open Model

Log and Replay CAN FD Messages

Log and replay CAN FD messages using MathWorks Virtual CAN FD channels in Simulink®. You can update this model to connect to supported hardware on your system.

Open Script

CAN Connectivity in a Robotics Application

Use Vehicle Network Toolbox™ to implement a Controller Area Network (CAN) in a remote manipulator arm using Simulink®. The CAN messages used are defined in the CAN database file, canDatabaseFor6DofRoboticArm.dbc.

Open Model

CAN Connectivity in an Automotive Application

Uses Vehicle Network Toolbox to implement a distributed Electronic Control Unit (ECU) network on CAN for an automobile using Simulink®. The CAN messages used are defined in the CAN database file, canConnectivityForVehicle.dbc.

Open Script

Developing an App Designer App for a Simulink Model using CAN

Construct a test application user interface (UI) and connect it to a Simulink model using virtual CAN channels. The test application UI is constructed using MATLAB App Designer™ along with several Vehicle Network Toolbox™ (VNT) functions to provide a virtual CAN bus interface to a Simulink model of an automotive cruise control application. The test application UI allows a user to provide input stimulus to the cruise control algorithm model, observe results fed back from the model, log CAN messages to capture test stimuli, and replay logged CAN messages to debug and correct issues with the algorithm model. The example shows the key Vehicle Network Toolbox functions and blocks used to implement CAN communication in the following areas:

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Programmatically Building Models for CAN Communication

Programmatically construct a Simulink model to introduce CAN or CAN FD communication using a CAN DBC-file. With the add_block and set_param functions of Simulink, one can add and fully configure Vehicle Network Toolbox (VNT) blocks to take a basic algorithm and add network communications. The DBC-file contains the CAN messages and signal details. The primary focus is to programmatically configure CAN and CAN FD Pack and Unpack block parameters. This can significantly increase model construction efficiency.

Open Live Script

Vehicle Network Toolbox Documentation

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