Fusion Tech's CANipulator Is Designed to Bridge CAN Buses, Modify Messages, and More
Built around an Espressif ESP32-C6 module, this RISC-V gadget targets the CAN bus experimenters and hackers.
Brno-based Fusion Tech has launched an Espressif ESP32-powered device designed to make it easier to debug, reverse engineer, and otherwise experiment with CAN buses in automotive and industrial devices: The CANipulator.
"The CANipulator is a CAN bus interface that allows the bridging, translation, baud-matching, or manipulation of traffic on two CAN networks between nodes," the company explains of its creation. "It was designed with automotive environments in mind, but can also be used in other CAN systems."
The heart of the CANipulator is an Espressif ESP32-C6-WROOM-1U module, giving it a a single 32-bit RISC-V core running at up to 160MHz, a secondary low-power core running at up to 20MHz, 512kB of static RAM (SRAM) and 320kB of on-chip flash expanded by 4MB off-chip on the module itself. There are also radios for single-band 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5 Low Energy (BLE), and IEEE 802.15.4.
The CANipulator is designed to be capable of communicating with two CAN networks simultaneously, using a pair of transceivers capable of up to 1Mb/s throughput and with termination resistors selectable via jumper. Exposed on Molex DuraClik connectors, the pair are designed to allow the bridging of two separate CAN networks or devices — connecting two supposedly-separate networks, translating messages between peripherals and the network, connecting devices to networks for which they weren't designed, or changing the baud rate of messages for compatibility.
Fusion Tech also suggests some other use-cases for the CANipulator, some of which make use of its wireless connectivity — such as manipulating CAN messages on-the-fly using a Wi-Fi or Bluetooth connected device, sniffing the network in real-time, and simulating messages.
The CANipulator is now available on the Fusion Tech Tindie store for $65, plus $6 for an optional enclosure; a forked ESP32 CAN bus library is suggested in order to enable dual Two-Wire Automotive Interface (TWAI) support.