Get familiar with the communication backbone and communication interfaces of the modern car.

The course will enable the students to implement and verify communication networks in a vehicle, and also have solid basic knowledge about several key communication protocols used in the automotive industry. After successfully attending the course, students will be capable to understand the communication mechanisms of computer components in vehicles and to write simple programs that run in such an environment. The goal of the course is to strengthen the design capabilities of students with regard to correct automotive protocol identification, understanding and usage. Specific consideration is given to internal vehicle communication infrastructure, including serial wired busses (UART, SPI, I2C), LIN, Ethernet and Deterministic Ethernet, CAN, FlexRay and BroadR Reach. Basic concepts of Car2X, Car2Car, Car2Infrastructure and Car2Cloud protocols are also given. The course provides practical exercises with real-world automotive industry equipment.

Course topics:

• Overview of automotive networks, busses and protocols

• Serial wired busses (UART, SPI, I2C)

• LIN description and exercises (communication concepts, physical layer, payload format)

• Basic and advanced concepts of Ethernet, automotive requirements, Deterministic Ethernet

• Fundamentals advanced concepts of CAN-FD

• BroadR Reach overview, applications, signal properties

• FlexRay, routing, conversion CAN to FlexRay

• Protocol coexistence, adaptation, control and heterogeneity

• Car2X, Car2Car, Car2Infrastructure and Car2Cloud protocols

• Tools: VECTOR CANoe, CANdb

Hardware (required): Computer with Internet connection, working speakers and microphone.

Software: Chrome browser.

Course Typically Offered: Live Online in Fall quarter (September - mid December) and in Spring quarter (April - mid June).

Prerequisites: Students should have basic software development knowledge gained from either industry experience or appropriate level of undergraduate studies. Ideally, students are familiar with the computer network concepts, such as TCP/IP and ISO/OSI model overall.

Next Step: To further practice and deepen the knowledge in automotive engineering, consider taking the remaining courses from the Automotive Engineering catalog (NIT-AU-XX).

Course Number: NIT-AU-06

Duration: 2.00 units (~20 live teaching hours, ~40 hours of individual practice and preparation work)