A proposal to improve the responsiveness of FTT-CAN synchronous messaging system

Abstract

A flexible real-time communication system must support modifications to the message set which it conveys. These changes can be requested by a human operator, during system set-up or maintenance, or autonomously bythe control system while responding to variations in theenvironment. In the former case, a response time up to a few seconds can be acceptable. However, in the latter, thephysical properties of the environment can require thatchanges to the message set are carried out in a short term. In this case, a response time in the order of a few milliseconds can be demanded. In this paper we analyse the responsiveness of the FTTCANprotocol, in particular of its synchronous messaging system. Then, a method is proposed to improve such responsiveness with regard to urgent requests for changes in the message set.