What primary issue involving vehicle wiring harnesses necessitated the development of the CAN bus system?
Answer
Increasing complexity, density, and weight due to proliferation of ECUs needing dedicated wiring
The fundamental automotive need driving the creation of the CAN bus was the crisis caused by traditional point-to-point wiring schemes. As vehicle features like engine management and ABS proliferated, each required dedicated wires running between sensors, actuators, and Electronic Control Units (ECUs). This resulted in wiring harnesses that became incredibly complex, dense, heavy, and consequently expensive to manufacture, diagnose, and maintain. The migration to CAN was necessary because the point-to-point system could not scale efficiently to support the numerous microcontrollers needing to share data.
Related Questions
Who led the team that invented the Controller Area Network (CAN bus) at Robert Bosch GmbH?When did the development of the Controller Area Network (CAN bus) begin in earnest at Robert Bosch GmbH?What fundamental type of protocol is the CAN protocol based on, according to its technical foundation description?What specific non-destructive technique does CAN use to manage network access and prioritize time-critical information?Which vehicle marked the first commercial application of the CAN bus in 1991?What ISO standard formally recognized the Controller Area Network protocol?How does the CAN protocol physically operate regarding signal transmission over its dedicated wires?What strategic decision did Bosch make regarding the CAN specification in 1991 concerning proprietary control?In the message-based CAN protocol, what two purposes does the message identifier serve?What primary issue involving vehicle wiring harnesses necessitated the development of the CAN bus system?Which sector, besides automotive engineering, utilizes CAN networks based on its core strengths?