Get Started with CAN FD Communication in MATLAB
R2026bThis example shows you how to use CAN FD channels to transmit and receive CAN FD messages. It uses MathWorks® virtual CAN FD channels connected in a loopback configuration.
View Available CAN FD Channels
Use canFDChannelList to see all available device channels supporting CAN FD.
canFDChannelList
ans = 2×6 table
Vendor Device Channel DeviceModel ProtocolMode SerialNumber
___________ ___________ _______ ___________ _____________ ____________
"MathWorks" "Virtual 1" 1 "Virtual" "CAN, CAN FD" "0"
"MathWorks" "Virtual 1" 2 "Virtual" "CAN, CAN FD" "0"
Create Transmitting and Receiving Channels
Use canFDChannel with device details specified to create CAN FD channels for transmitting and receiving messages.
txCh = canFDChannel("MathWorks","Virtual 1",1)
txCh =
Channel with properties:
Device Information
DeviceVendor: 'MathWorks'
Device: 'Virtual 1'
DeviceChannelIndex: 1
DeviceSerialNumber: 0
ProtocolMode: 'CAN FD'
Status Information
Running: 0
MessagesAvailable: 0
MessagesReceived: 0
MessagesTransmitted: 0
InitializationAccess: 1
InitialTimestamp: [0×0 datetime]
FilterHistory: 'Standard ID Filter: Allow All | Extended ID Filter: Allow All'
Bit Timing Information
BusStatus: 'N/A'
SilentMode: 0
TransceiverName: 'N/A'
TransceiverState: 'N/A'
ReceiveErrorCount: 0
TransmitErrorCount: 0
ArbitrationBusSpeed: 500000
DataBusSpeed: 2000000
Other Information
Database: []
UserData: []
rxCh = canFDChannel("MathWorks","Virtual 1", 2);
Configure Bus Speed
CAN FD channels require setting of bus speed before going online. Both the arbitration and data phase speeds are configured using configBusSpeed.
configBusSpeed(txCh, 500000, 1000000); configBusSpeed(rxCh, 500000, 1000000);
Open the DBC File
Use canDatabase to open the database file that contains definitions of CAN FD messages and signals.
db = canDatabase("CANFDExample.dbc")db =
Database with properties:
Name: 'CANFDExample'
Path: '/tmp/Bdoc26b_3351752_1669259/tp27681ebe/vnt-ex36915890/CANFDExample.dbc'
UTF8_File: '/tmp/Bdoc26b_3351752_1669259/tp27681ebe/vnt-ex36915890/CANFDExample.dbc'
Nodes: {}
NodeInfo: [0×0 struct]
Messages: {'CANFDMessage'}
MessageInfo: [1×1 struct]
Attributes: {2×1 cell}
AttributeInfo: [2×1 struct]
UserData: []
Attach the database directly to the receiving channel. Definitions from the DBC file are automatically applied to decode incoming messages and signals.
rxCh.Database = db;
Start the Channels
Use the start command to set the channels online.
start(txCh); start(rxCh);
Create CAN FD Messages
Create CAN FD messages using the canFDMessage function.
msg1 = canFDMessage(500, false, 12)
msg1 =
Message with properties:
Message Identification
ProtocolMode: 'CAN FD'
ID: 500
Extended: 0
Name: ''
Data Details
Timestamp: 0
Data: [0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]
Signals: []
Length: 12
DLC: 9
Protocol Flags
BRS: 0
ESI: 0
Error: 0
Other Information
Database: []
UserData: []
msg2 = canFDMessage(1000, false, 24); msg3 = canFDMessage(1500, false, 64);
To engage the bit rate switch capability of CAN FD, set the BRS property of the messages.
msg1.BRS = true; msg2.BRS = true; msg3.BRS = true;
CAN FD messages can also be created using a database. The database defines if a message is CAN or CAN FD as well as the BRS status.
msg4 = canFDMessage(db,"CANFDMessage")msg4 =
Message with properties:
Message Identification
ProtocolMode: 'CAN FD'
ID: 1
Extended: 0
Name: 'CANFDMessage'
Data Details
Timestamp: 0
Data: [0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]
Signals: []
Length: 48
DLC: 14
Protocol Flags
BRS: 1
ESI: 0
Error: 0
Other Information
Database: [1×1 can.Database]
UserData: []
Transmit Messages
Use transmit to send the created messages from the transmitting channel.
transmit(txCh, [msg1 msg2 msg3 msg4])
Receive Messages
Receive the messages from the receiving channel using the receive function. The default return type for CAN FD channels is a timetable containing information specific to the received CAN FD messages.
rxMsg = receive(rxCh, Inf)
rxMsg = 4×12 timetable
Time ID Extended Name ProtocolMode Data Length DLC Signals Error Remote BRS ESI
____________ ____ ________ ________________ ____________ ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ______ ___ ____________ _____ ______ _____ _____
0.040748 sec 500 false {0×0 char } {'CAN FD'} {[ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]} 12 9 {0×0 struct} false false true false
0.040749 sec 1000 false {0×0 char } {'CAN FD'} {[ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]} 24 12 {0×0 struct} false false true false
0.04075 sec 1500 false {0×0 char } {'CAN FD'} {[0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]} 64 15 {0×0 struct} false false true false
0.04075 sec 1 false {'CANFDMessage'} {'CAN FD'} {[ 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0]} 48 14 {1×1 struct} false false true false
Stop the Channels
Use the stop command to set the channels offline.
stop(txCh); stop(rxCh);
Close the DBC File
Close access to the DBC file by clearing its variable from the workspace.
clear db
