Research on FlexRay communication system

FlexRay is a next-generation automotive control and communication protocol intended for safety-critical automotive applications such as Steering-by-Wire (SBW) system, where electronic connections will replace the mechanical linkages between the steer wheel and the road wheel. A Steering-by-Wire system is introduced, in which a FlexRay control and communication network is setup. According to the requirement of SBW, there are three FlexRay nodes are created. For control and communication purpose, a protocol for communication cluster is developed, the parameters such as signal characteristic, slot, communication time schedule and cycle etc. are defined in the protocol. A SBW FlexRay network simulation system is built by CANoe.FlexRay, which is a powerful simulation environment for FlexRay communication cluster. The network topology, communication messages, control parameters are configurable in the simulation system. The simulation result shows that the SBW system is an efficient communication system. The hardware and the software of the FlexRay nodes are developed respectively, all these nodes are connected as a physical FlexRay cluster. All of the communication messages running in the network are analyzed in detail. The test result indicates it is a reliable control and communication cluster for Steering-by-Wire system.