A time‐triggered control network for industrial automation

The CAN (Controller Area Network) standard, ISO 11898, is now ubiquitous in industrial automation environments. CAN is used with defined application layers for implementing sensor/actuator level distributed control applications. Protocols such as Honeywell's SDS, ODVA's DeviceNet (Allen Bradley) and CANopen are well‐known device level networks which are based on the CAN protocol. A new time‐triggered protocol for CAN, referred to as TTCAN, is under development where the real‐time scheduling of the network traffic can be formally verified. This paper introduces the new TTCAN protocol and suggests that TTCAN has the potential to provide new solutions in industrial automation applications. TTCAN has the potential to replace some conventional pneumatic, hydraulic and other mechanical safety‐critical control systems with a reliable electronic network. The emergence of 42‐volt technology from the automotive world will further complement the TTCAN technology to provide some unique industrial automation solutions.