No. 10 - July 31, 2026
A word from the CiA Managing Director
The dominating CAN application is in-vehicle networking in passenger cars, trucks, and buses. But there are many more small and medium-sized application fields. Every little bit helps. Optimistic market studies said that this year 4,5 billion new CAN nodes will be installed. I am more conservative, estimating 3,5 billion CAN nodes. To be honest, nobody is really able to exactly and seriously count such high figures.
Marketing experts tell us, the automotive industry is migrating from CAN technology to Ethernet. If you dig a little bit deeper, you will detect that automotive microcontrollers usually implement more CAN interfaces than Ethernet ports. The rational: CAN networks are increasingly used in road vehicles as sub-layered communication systems, in which real-time capability, robustness, and reliability count as well as reasonable prices. In other words, CAN technology migrates into deeply-embedded networks.
As said, every little bit helps. There are emerging CAN markets, which have developed well, in last few years: light electric vehicles (LEVs), service and humanoid robots as well as automated-guided vehicles (AGVs) and autonomous mobile robots (AMR). It seems that they have a great future. We are not at the end of these CAN success stories. And, there are new ones on the horizon: One of them is controlled environment agriculture (CEA). This includes greenhouse automation, controlling vertical farms, and automation of livestock farming.
Many of the deeply-embedded CAN-based networks are not publicly visible. For example, there are modular I/O devices, using CAN networks as backbone within the device, to communicate between the bus coupler and I/O modules. The bus coupler can support at the external interface any communication technology, which is a feature of the product. But there are used much more CAN nodes deeply-embedded within the modular device.
This is, why I still see a bright future for CAN. The number of CAN nodes annually installed will still increase, but it will be harder to count them. Because deeply-embedded (“invisible”) nodes are somehow hidden. In many cases, CAN is a hidden champion. Eventually, the optimistically estimated 4,5 billion CAN nodes for 2026 are not that unrealistic. Every little bit helps.
CANsec data plane specification
The recently released CiA 613-2 document specifies the security data plane add-on function for CAN XL. The trademarked CANsec approach is based on MACsec. It aims to protect the data integrity, freshness, authenticity of origin, and confidentiality of data in CAN-based networks using CAN XL communication, by reusing the security functionalities of MACsec. The document additionally addresses the primary key management requirements, but leaves the specifics of a key exchange/distribution protocol out of scope. The document is in draft specification proposal (DSP) state. Currently, only members have access to this document.
New CAN application in commercial road vehicles
ISO/TC 22/SC 37/WG 9 (Electrical high-power interface to trailers and body-builder equipment) is going to request from ISO/TC 22/SC 31 to develop a CAN-based communication interface for electric power take-off (ePTO) in electrically propelled commercial road vehicles. The document referencing this requested standard is ISO/WD 26015.2 (Electrically propelled road vehicles — High power interface for ePTO), which is currently in WD (work draft) consultation state.
CiA 422 series updated
The CleANopen application profile for refuse-collecting vehicle body application units (BAU) has been revised. The six-part document series (version 2.2.0) specifies the communication between several deeply-embedded functional units, including the CleANopen body controller (BC) and (bin) lifter units, compaction units, etc. The updated versions have been editorially improved and errors have been corrected. Technically, a numbering of lift units (LUs) for single compartment side loaders (right/left) have been added. Additionally, some parameters and PDOs (process data objects) have been introduced. Especially, PDOs for measuring units (MUs) now provide a WELMEC-complaint signature. Additional SDO (service data object) channels connect the bin classification units (BCUs) with (bin) identification units (IDUs). Parameter specifications have been updated, too.
CODB files embedded in CiA conformance test tool
All proven CODB (CANopen data base) files are available for members as a sub-folder of the CANopen conformance test tool. Thus, EDS (electronic data sheet) files for CiA profiles corresponding to the listed CODBs can be tested in addition to the CiA 301 (CANopen base specification). Testing of EDS files according to the listed CODBs is not a part of the CANopen CC conformance testing.
CiA and the use of AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) is quickly developing. It could also be used within CiA groups. But legal rules and CiA-internal conduct guidelines should not be violated. International standardization bodies such as IEC and ISO are facing the same issues. Both organizations have jointly published a Guidance on the use of AI for IEC and ISO technical committees. CiA office asks the experts in CiA groups to read this paper and to respect it as far as it applies for CiA. In most cases, it does apply. By the way, SAE is even much stricter not to use AI, developing specifications.
M_CAN in dark web
On July 13, the until then unknown D1R cybergang claimed to have stolen CAN VHDL files owned by Bosch through an alleged breach of Synopsys, a silicon design partner of the German automotive supplier. In the meantime, Synopsys stated, it has found no evidence of a data breach as claimed by the ransomware group. The cybercriminals listed both companies on its leak site, alleging exploitation of a vulnerability in Synopsys' website to access a corporate client database. The cybergang gave an eleven-day ultimatum before publishing the alleged stolen files.
Bosch confirmed that M_CAN implementation details are temporarily on the dark web. The dark web is an encrypted, hidden part of the internet, intentionally unindexed by search engines such as Googe, for example. It requires specialized software (such as the Tor browser) to access and utilize encrypted overlay networks. While often associated with illicit activity and cybercrime, it also provides vital privacy for whistleblowers and journalists. It is both, a platform for illegal business and criminals as well as for opponents of authoritarian regimes.
Bosch’s CAN experts stated that there is no risk to use M_CAN implementations in new or existing applications, supporting CAN CC (classic) and CAN FD protocols. There are no security vulnerabilities, because of the illegal publication of M_CAN implementation details. Anyway, nobody knows (except Bosch’s engineers), if the illegally published documents were modified by the hackers or provide the original content.
CAN Newsletter magazine: June issue
The focus of the June issue is on mobile machines. There are not only, technical in-depth articles, but also a lot of product news and brief news rounding off this topic. This includes reports about 30 years of CAN in Actros trucks by Daimler Truck and about 20 years of digital tachographs.
News ticker
+++ In May, CiA organized the 25th CANopen Lift plugfest, testing the interoperability of CiA 417 compliant devices and controllers. +++ CiA member Embedded Systems Academy has released a dedicated website on "Securing CAN and CAN FD systems". +++ Recently, CiA has assigned CANopen vendor-IDs to Elte Smart (Poland), G-SNS (Germany), Jiangsu Richcon Biotechnology (China), and Kempower (Finland). +++ New CiA member Sichuan Odot Automation System (China) offers CANopen host controllers running Codesys, modular CANopen I/O devices, and a CANopen/ModbusTCP protocol converter. +++ This year, the long-term CiA member b-plus is celebrating its 30th anniversary. With more than 250 employees, b-plus provides hardware and software solutions for automotive, off-highway, and defense sectors. +++ CiA organizes a CiA 447 (passenger car add-on devices) workshop (September 9) about the OEM Adaptive Interface. +++
Submit your paper for the 19th iCC
Do not miss the possibility to be a speaker on the 19th international CAN Conference (iCC). Submission of an abstract on any CAN-related topic is possible by September 15, 2026. In case your paper is accepted, submission of a full paper is not mandatory, but highly appreciated. The iCC takes place in Tutzing (close to Munich, Germany) from March 3 to March 5, 2027.
CiA activities
- CiA education and information events
- Charged online seminars
- Charged in-house seminars
- Free-of-charge CiA webinars
- CiA groups
- CiA trade shows
New CiA members since the last CCN
- G-SNS (DE)
- Guangzhou Harbourcross Technology (CN)
- Jiangsu Richcon Biotechnology (CN)
- NetTechnix E&P (AT)
- NTM Entsorgungssysteme (DE)
- Proper Voltage (US)
CiA has 731 members (July 31, 2026)
Editors: Olga Fischer, Holger Zeltwanger (responsible according to the press law)
Advertising: Birgit Ruedel (responsible according to the press law)
CAN in Automation (CiA) e. V.
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