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Industrial vehicles cover a broad range of different applications including fork-lifts, agriculture and forestry machines, as well as road construction machines and truck-based cranes, garbage trucks and even truck-based aircraft washing robots. All of these vehicle applications are characterized by low-volume to mid-volume production. There is also a high variety in different versions. That is the reason why in these applications embedded networks should be standardized. In addition, the vehicle manufacturers like to use off-the-shelf products, even if they are manufactured for other market fields, in order to get better prices.

In-vehicle networks (IVN) have been standardized from the beginning. The story of IVN standardization started at the beginning of the 90s. Today, several IVN technologies have been internationally standardized by ISO (International Organization for Standardization) including the related conformance test plans. But as all electronic technologies, IVNs are a matter of improvement and change due to new requirements and gained experiences. This makes it difficult to always keep the standard backwards compatible, in particular if immature approaches are submitted. Furthermore, new communication protocols are knocking on the door of international standardization bodies. The automotive industry itself is conservative and adapts new IVNs slowly. There are also concerns regarding too many different bus systems and networks in one vehicle. This paper discusses the benefits and challenges of the standardization of IVNs.

CANopen is a CAN-based higher layer protocol originally developed for industrial control systems. The CANopen specifications include different device and application profiles. CANopen networks are also used in vehicles, e.g. in buses for engine control, in public transportation for passenger information systems, and in off-road vehicles for different purposes. In opposite to other higher-layer approaches, CANopen software is first compiled and afterwards the network will be configured. In traditional vehicle networks configuration is done before compilation.

CANopen is a CAN-based higher layer protocol originally developed for industrial control systems. The CANopen specifications include different device and application profiles. CANopen networks are also used in vehicles, e.g. in buses for engine control, in public transportation for passenger information systems, and in off-road vehicles for different purposes. As opposed to other higher-layer approaches, CANopen software is first compiled and afterwards the network will be configured. In traditional vehicle networks configuration is done before compilation. Besides the use in a hybrid bus, CANopen is already implemented in different fork-lifts, road construction machines, as well as mining vehicles. CiA is developing device profiles for diesel engines, electronic gears, joysticks, hydraulic valves, etc. In addition, CANopen has been used in agriculture and forrestry machines and maritime applications.