Bachelor and Master Theses

To apply for conducting this thesis, please contact the thesis supervisor(s).

Title:	Experimental evaluation of a CAN-to-TSN gateway prototype
Subject:	Embedded systems, Computer network engineering, Computer science
Level:	Basic, Advanced
Description:	Most modern cars have many Electronic Control Units (ECUs) that are connected through different in-vehicle networks. [1] One of the most popular real-time network protocols is the Controller Area Network (CAN) [2], which can transmit up to 8 bytes at a speed of 1 Mbps. However, as technology advances, newer versions of CAN, like CAN Flexible Data-rate (FD) [3], have been developed to meet the requirements of modern vehicles. Despite this, CAN FD has limitations, especially in autonomous driving vehicles. To overcome these limitations, the automotive industry is adopting Switched Ethernet, which has high-bandwidth support of up to 10 Gbit/s. However, Switched Ethernet doesn't support low-jitter and timing predictable communication [4], which is where the IEEE Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) [5] standards come in. TSN is used in conjunction with Switched Ethernet to support high-bandwidth, low-latency, low-jitter, and timing predictable communication within vehicles [6]. Although real-time Ethernet networks like TSN are expected to replace CAN eventually, it will be a gradual process due to the low cost of legacy networks like CAN that are still widely used in the automotive industry [7]. Therefore, networks like CAN and TSN are likely to coexist within vehicles, with multiple CAN domains communicating through a TSN backbone domain using a gateway ECU between them [8]. Thesis goal: The aim of this thesis is to experimentally evaluate a gateway that connects CAN/CAN FD to TSN. The student will develop the gateway, and the evaluation will involve various gateway forwarding techniques as outlined in [8]. The experimentation will also assess various configurations of the TSN switch provided by our industrial partner, based on the message transmission delays experienced when transmitting between different domains. Using the results of the evaluation, a guideline will be defined to determine the preferred configuration for the TSN network and gateway that would reduce delays for inter-domain messages. References: [1] L. Lo Bello, R. Mariani, S. Mubeen, and S. Saponara. Recent advances and trends in on-board embedded and networked automotive systems. IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics, 15(2), 2019 [2] Controller Area Network (CAN), [online] Available: https://www.can-cia.org/can-knowledge/can/classical-can/ [3] CAN Flexible Data-rate (FD) , [online] Available: https://can-cia.org/can-knowledge/can/can-fd/ [4] Hyung-Taek Lim, Lars Volker, and Daniel Herrscher. Challenges in ¨ a future ip/ethernet-based in-car network for real-time applications. In Proceedings of the 48th Design Automation Conference, pages 7–12, 2011. [5] IEEE Time-Sensitive Networking (TSN) Task Group, 2016, http://www.ieee802.org/1/pages/tsn.html. [6] Mohammad Ashjaei, Lucia Lo Bello, Masoud Daneshtalab, Gaetano Patti, Sergio Saponara, and Saad Mubeen. Time-sensitive networking in automotive embedded systems: State of the art and research opportunities. J. Syst. Archit., 117(C), aug 2021 [7] Helge Zinner, Josef Noebauer, Thomas Gallner, Jochen Seitz, and Thomas Waas. Application and realization of gateways between conventional automotive and ip/ethernet-based networks. In Proceedings of the 48th Design Automation Conference, pages 1–6, 2011 [8] Berisa, Aldin, et al. "Investigating and Analyzing CAN-to-TSN Gateway Forwarding Techniques." 2023 IEEE 26th International Symposium on Real-Time Distributed Computing (ISORC). IEEE, 2023. The thesis would include the following steps: Study the state of the art for CAN-TSN gateways Explore different configurations available by the TSN switches Develop a CAN-TSN gateway on a development board Develop a CAN FD-TSN gateway using the same development board Perform the experimental evaluation using different configurations of the TSN switch as well as gateway forwarding techniques Based on the evaluation, define a preferred configuration for the TSN network and gateway Write a thesis report Prerequisites: Possible for 1 or 2 students with good knowledge in Embedded Real-Time Systems and good programming skills IDT supervisors: Aldin Berisa, Saad Mubeen Examiner: Mohammad Ashjaei Company Contract: Hans Lyngbäck, HIAB AB (The thesis is supported by HIAB AB)
Start date:	2024-01-30
End date:	2024-06-30
Prerequisites:	Possible for 1 or 2 students with good knowledge in Embedded Real-Time Systems and good programming skills
IDT supervisors:	Aldin Berisa Saad Mubeen
Examiner:	Mohammad Ashjaei
Comments:
Company contact:	HIAB AB is a Swedish manufacturer of loader cranes, demountable container handlers, forestry cranes, truck-mounted forklifts and tail lifts.