Experimental validation of CAN to Bluetooth gateway for in-vehicle wireless networks

Controller Area Network (CAN) protocol is a well-established and widely accepted communication technology for in-vehicle communications. However, the increase in the number of sensors deployed in cars brings complexity and cost to the automobile industry since CAN is a wired network. So, short range wireless communications technologies that operate in unlicensed band are seen as potential alternative to CAN network. Bluetooth is considered as a highly promising candidate for such intra-vehicle wireless networks. This paper uses a CAN to Bluetooth gateway which enables the conversion of CAN message into Bluetooth message. This is necessary to achieve the wireless communication via Bluetooth modules. On the other hand, it is necessary to maintain the reliability of communication that is offered by wired network, CAN. This paper aims to investigate experimentally, the level of reliability that is offered by wireless networks using these gateways. A lab car is used for experimental purpose which introduces closed environment and the Non-Line-of-Site (NLoS) paths between the Bluetooth modules. Finally, this paper proposes a suitable model for in-vehicle wireless networks.