CAN/LIN-Bus protocol. Implementation of a low-cost serial communication network

The incorporation of active methodologies in the engineering classes allows that the students should reach a more significant learning, assuming responsibility about their own learning. This reason allows to the students to acquire knowledge and to implement numerous theoretical bases in an entertaining and fun form. Similarly, the use of this type of educational strategies it helps at the same time to the evaluation of knowledge, skills, abilities and competences; acquired during the teaching-learning process. In turn, they are easily contrasted experimentally. To control electronic devices of a local or remote form always it has supposed an example of additional motivation on the students. This paper proposes the use of such devices as an educational resource. In the last decade the communications buses CAN (Controller Area Network), Flex-Ray and LIN (Local Interconnect Network) - an alternative of low cost-, they have revolutionized the automobile industry, appearing in almost all commercial vehicles. In this paper under an academic purpose, the communication networks together with his different topologies and peripherals available are described. The objective has been that the student knows its applications, easy implementation and it develops small experiences in the laboratory - Hands-on Laboratory - or Challenge Problems constituted by the use of microcontrollers. Thus the application presented incorporates an additional factor of motivation in the students, while they develop another type of skills, abilities and competences.